Chapter 462: Proof of Existence (50)
Chapter 462: Proof of Existence (50)
When she came to her senses, the Saintess found herself standing in a place she didn't recognize.
Her hands were still trembling. Her brilliant mind and cold, analytical judgment meant nothing now.
The man she loved might die.
The moment that thought consumed her mind, the Saintess lost all composure. She hadn't even had the presence of mind to press for details.
She hadn't asked why they had to travel in such secrecy.
She hadn't asked why they couldn't seek help from the Holy Kingdom, or at least call upon their comrades remaining at the Academy. Every time she had tried to raise a question, Yuren’s reaction had been unsettling.
He had spoken in a low, heavy voice.
"Sister, it’s urgent. For now, you have to trust me and follow."
As he spoke, the man’s face had been more rigid than she had ever seen it. It was as if Ian would die the very moment the secrets behind this situation were brought to light.
If it had been anyone else, she would have scoffed and told them not to be ridiculous.
But this was Yuren, the boy she had grown up with since childhood. To the Saintess, who was an orphan, he was the only person she could call family.
Furthermore, she had no way to soothe the burning anxiety in her chest.
Ian was going to die.
Just imagining it made her hands shake. She had never once envisioned a future where he did not exist.
She could imagine a future where they started a family and lived happily together, but never one without him.
Love often turns even the most brilliant minds into fools.
The Saintess was not exempt from that ancient curse. Their journey to an unknown destination lasted half a day, and the place they finally reached was this small hut.
It was a secluded spot in the middle of a forest where no one would ever look.
She couldn't even fathom why a hut would be located in such a remote wilderness. Her first thought was that it might be a 'hideout' prepared for emergencies.
But why a hideout all of a sudden?
Just as the Saintess furrowed her brow at the question, Yuren spoke.
"…We’ve arrived."
At Yuren’s low voice, the Saintess snapped back to reality.
This was no time to be lost in thought. Saving Ian was the priority.
The rest could be worried about later.
The Saintess lowered her voice cautiously and asked, "So, what does this place have to do with Ian?"
"As I told you, the Shylock Merchant Association was a front for the Dark Cult."
They had been traveling together for half a day. No matter how much the Saintess had lost her cool, there had been enough time to grasp the general situation.
That was the gist of the story he had given her.
When the Saintess remained silent, prompting him to continue, Yuren went on with his testimony without hesitation.
"We were tracking them and discovered their hideout. We tried to raid it, but we were the ones who got ambushed instead."
"And how did you get back?"
The Saintess’s tone dropped a notch once she was certain no one else was around.
They had been close since childhood, after all. There was no real reason to maintain formal speech.
Despite this, Yuren did not drop his polite honorifics. Considering their hierarchy, this was technically the correct way to behave.
Yuren was, in the end, merely an escort knight. His status was nowhere near that of the Saintess.
There was a world of difference between a superior treating a subordinate casually and a subordinate doing the same to their superior.
However, Yuren wasn't entirely stiff in his response.
"Naturally, I escaped before things got worse… Who do you think I am?"
At his playful remark, a faint smile played on the Saintess’s lips.
Indeed, he had always been like that.
Since they were young, Yuren had been exceptionally good at sensing danger. It was as if he were born with a heightened survival instinct; the Saintess herself had benefited from it many times.
Perhaps that was why she had appointed him as her 'escort knight.'
Even though she could have given him any title she wanted. With that thought, the Saintess slowly shook her head.
She looked at him as if he were hopeless.
"I’m just glad you made it back. So, you’re saying this hut is the hideout?"
"I suspect it’s a sort of prison where Ian and the others are being held."
"Hmm," the Saintess hummed, her eyes narrowing.
The hut looked fairly well-maintained. It was evidence that it hadn't been abandoned for long and was being looked after. At the very least, it was clear that someone had visited recently.
Seeing the Saintess grow more cautious, Yuren began to resolve her doubts one by one, as if he had been waiting for her to ask.
"We didn't know how far the Dark Cult’s influence reached. What if they found out we asked the Holy Kingdom for reinforcements?"
"The hostages would be in danger, you mean?"
"At the same time, we couldn't afford to delay any longer. There’s no telling what they might be doing to the prisoners."
The Saintess nodded silently as she listened to the explanation.
It was a plausible story. Strictly speaking, there were points that required more detail, but the Saintess was currently in a state of extreme agitation.
There’s no telling what they might be doing to the prisoners.
Yuren’s words weighed heavily on her heart. Suppressing her urge to rush into the hut immediately, she asked her most trusted confidant.
"What do you think? About this place?"
Yuren looked at her with a questioning gaze. Meeting his eyes, the woman wore a playful smile.
"Does it look dangerous? As you know, I’m particularly dull when it comes to these things."
"Yes, you were… but you were always incredibly suspicious instead."
With a hollow laugh, Yuren shook his head.
"…I think it’s safe to enter."
Only then did the Saintess let out a long sigh, calming her racing heart.
To be honest, the Saintess’s combat abilities were not high. However, darkness cannot overcome light; her immense divine power would be a great asset in a fight against the Dark Cult.
Just as the Saintess took her first step into the hut.
Snap.
A bolt of pure white lightning struck.
In the blink of an eye, a dull impact slammed into the back of her neck. Her pale pink eyes lost focus as she turned her head back.
It was a matter of instinct.
She wanted to know why she was losing consciousness, and her gaze stopped on one person.
Sinister green eyes were glowing in the air.
The Saintess’s thoughts ground to a halt.
Yuren was holding a sword. The weapon, which he hadn't even drawn from its scabbard, had become a blunt instrument that struck the back of her head.
It was a swift sword, truly invisible to the eye.
He was indeed a master of the swift sword technique known as 'Siendel's Lightning.'
However, the Saintess could not understand the situation at all.
Why? She desperately wanted to ask, but—
"Honestly, you really are dull."
That sighing voice was the last thing she heard.
The Saintess lost consciousness right then and there.
* * *
The Saintess snapped her eyes open.
It felt like she had just had a nightmare. Yuren betraying her—there was a limit to how unrealistic a scenario could be.
The Saintess swallowed a dry laugh and rubbed her eyes.
Perhaps because she had been lying on something soft, her body felt light. Her rested physical form was brimming with energy.
But that feeling was short-lived.
As she tried to yawn and stretch, her arms jerked to a halt. A sound that shouldn't have been there—a metallic clink—reached her ears.
The Saintess stared blankly at her wrists.
A strange accessory was there. It was a metal band wrapped around her wrist like a bracelet. A twisted wire connected to it was firmly anchored to the wall.
It was a restraint. And a high-quality one at that.
Only then did the surrounding scenery begin to register on her retinas.
Clear light poured down from a fixture on the ceiling. There was a soft bed, various pieces of furniture, and a neatly organized room, but that was only part of it.
Beyond that space, which wasn't even divided by doors or walls, everything was washed in monochrome. The vast, empty underground cavern created a chilling atmosphere.
Above all, there was a scent that brushed against the tip of her nose.
The scent of blood. Although the place had already been cleaned, it seemed they couldn't quite erase all traces of it.
This was a place where a large amount of blood had been spilled.
It meant this was by no means a good place. Realizing this, the hair on the Saintess’s arms stood on end.
Where on earth was she?
The answer to that question wasn't far away.
A languid greeting echoed in her ears.
"Are you awake, Sister?"
The Saintess’s gaze whipped toward the source. There stood a man, leaning against the wall with a scabbard cradled in his arms.
Or rather, should she call him a man?
The swordsman with jade-colored hair looked strangely unfamiliar. His slender jawline, the curves of his body, and the overall atmosphere were all the same.
Was it a man, or a woman?
She couldn't tell. The Saintess’s eyes widened at the alien sensation.
They had known each other since they were children. She had thought his gender was obvious, but facing those sinister green eyes, her long-held belief felt shaken to its core.
Yuren, the Saintess’s only family, wore a faint smile.
"You’ll have to stay here for a while. It’s too dangerous outside… I’ll let you go once all the problems are resolved."
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
However, the Saintess’s confusion was brief.
The surge of anger was far greater. Anyone would feel the same after being knocked unconscious by a surprise attack and imprisoned in an unknown location.
"It’s too dangerous outside? Who are you to decide that? And what you said about Ian being in danger…!"
"That wasn't a lie."
"Heh," Yuren let out a hollow laugh and shrugged.
"Ian was defeated in an ambush by the Dark Cult. It’s also true that he was dragged off somewhere in a near-death state. Though I’m not quite sure where that 'somewhere' is…."
"Then what about you?"
The question hissed through her gritted teeth.
Yuren stared blankly at the Saintess. Even so, she didn't hide the rising fury in her eyes.
"Then how did you come back? Why didn't you go to rescue him…?"
"Because I was the one who attacked him."
The Saintess’s words cut off abruptly.