Saintess (2)
The pressure I kept applying to him, already exhausted as he was, finally got me an answer. Something about sacrificing something important to him in order to barely save his life. I had no idea what kind of ability he’d used, but the story sounded plausible enough that the others seemed willing to believe it for now. After all, there was no way he could have healed wounds that severe without some kind of price.
But believing it for the time being didn’t mean they trusted him completely. No one did.
Even when the hero speaks the truth, this curse twists the meaning so others interpret it wrongly.
Hmph. Lies.
The hero carried the Curse of Distortion among his many afflictions. It made people misinterpret even his honest words. So at the time, that was all I could think.
The battle back then really had been that precarious, after all. What if someone else from the party had been standing where he was? What if the minotaur had chosen to charge instead of swinging its axe? A far worse tragedy could have unfolded. If it had been Kamilla or Lily in his place, they might have died instantly.
In other words, one wrong plan from him had nearly driven the entire team to their deaths. That was why, even if we half-accepted his explanation, none of the party members fully trusted him.
The only reason we trusted him even a little was because he genuinely looked like he was in pain.
“Cough! Cough!”
After being sliced nearly in half by the minotaur, his condition had visibly deteriorated. His face had grown strangely gaunt compared to before, and heavy dark circles hung under his eyes. The hero—who was supposed to be the strongest of us all—had suddenly become frail.
Looking at him back then, I had thought this:
Hmph. So there really was a price after all?
Seeing how haggard he looked.
Still, I can’t let my guard down. There’s no telling when or where he might pull something.
Anyway, since he already had a record of one failed operation, it was inevitable that his influence within the party would shrink. Even so, the others stopped attacking him for trivial reasons like they had before. No matter what, the party members weren’t cruel enough to keep kicking someone who already looked like he was suffering.
Above all, we had already entered the royal castle. Even if we wanted to send him away, we couldn’t. Getting caught sneaking in and out of the Demon King’s Castle would have caused an unimaginable scandal. So for now, we simply left him be. That seemed to be the stance the party had taken—neither touching him nor showing him any goodwill. A state of complete isolation.
While keeping a wary eye on him, I thought to myself. Or perhaps every member of the party had considered it at least once.
If the hero really does betray us, when would be the most efficient time for him to do it?
We were currently inside the Insect King’s royal castle. In other words, there was no better moment for him to reveal his true colors. Every single action he took could lead us straight to death.
And among those moments, the absolute best timing would be—
If he’s going to betray us, it would be during the fight with the Four Heavenly Kings.
I was convinced it could only happen then. The battle against the Heavenly Kings was bound to be more intense than anything we’d faced before. That would be when he would show his true intentions.
Still, I had confidence. It wasn’t mere arrogance. Among the Four Heavenly Kings, the Insect King Valcan was especially vulnerable to holy power. He used black magic—specifically the extremely wicked Insect Magic. Even the slightest touch of my holy power would probably send him fleeing like a moth with its wings on fire.
In short, the Insect King and I were polar opposites. So I was confident. Even if the hero betrayed us.
The journey continued like that. We wandered through the maze-like royal castle, heading toward the Insect King’s quarters. Of course, running into swarms of bugs along the way was unavoidable.
“Kyaaak! C-cockroaches! There’s a whole swarm of them!”
“Saintess. If you scream like that every time we encounter bugs, it’s going to be a problem later. How are you going to fight them?”
“Hero, shut up. We’ll handle it ourselves just fine.”
“…….”
It was incredibly disgusting and repulsive, but over time we gradually got used to it. The hero occasionally offered opinions during the trek, but most of them were ignored. After all, he already had a record of endangering the entire party with the minotaur incident.
“Cough! Cough!”
We continued exploring in that manner until the decisive battle finally arrived.
《So the cowardly little rats have finally crawled into my dwelling.》
After several days inside the royal castle, our presence had finally been discovered by Valcan, the Insect King.
《Tsk. I’m displeased that the goddess’s lackeys have entered without permission… but this works out nicely. I shall gladly turn you all into food for my children.》
A spine-chilling voice echoed throughout the entire castle, and the surrounding environment began to change. The passages were blocked off as swarms of insects poured in from every direction—centipedes, scorpions, grasshoppers, cockroaches, and countless other venomous and pestilent creatures. They surrounded us, blocking every path forward as if to prevent us from reaching their king.
“Hiiik! There’s a massive swarm of bugs!”
“Everyone, prepare for battle! We charge straight through! Full speed to the audience chamber where that bastard is waiting!!”
We fought desperately. We cut down the insects flying at us, burned them, purified them with holy power, and carved a path forward. Blocked passages were smashed open with raw force, and incoming swarms were held back by the mage’s barriers. Our only goal was the monster’s head.
Up until that point, I had still been confident. No matter how disgusting they were, my holy power was definitely effective against them, and I still had more than enough divine energy left.
Even so, I never stopped keeping a close watch on the hero, Luke. I was certain that someday we would reach the Insect King and take his head. But that resolve gradually began to crumble as time passed and the battle dragged on.
My holy power was overflowing, but so was the enemy’s army. No matter how many we killed, the insects kept coming without end.
“Haa… haa… Damn it, why won’t these bugs ever end!”
“They’re coming! Hold them back!”
“Special variants! Everyone, focus!”
And the deeper we went, the stronger and more specialized the insects became. It was only natural that the difficulty kept rising.
《You’re holding up quite well. But it looks like you don’t have much longer.》
Eventually, we began to suffer casualties.
“Ugh…”
“Lily?”
The party’s mage, who had been preparing spells, finally collapsed. The cause was exhaustion. Constant running, the mental strain of preparing high-level magic, and the endless barrage of poisons sprayed from all directions had worn her down. With her relatively weak stamina and the fact that she had been casting spells while running, it was almost inevitable.
And because of that, the party fell into danger almost instantly. With our primary area-of-effect damage dealer gone, a massive hole had opened in our formation.
“Lily, snap out of it! Ahh, what do we do?”
“Give her to me. I’ll carry her on my back. Kamilla is busy swinging her weapon, so she won’t have time.”
From that moment on, the insects’ assault grew viciously intense. Even as we cut them down, purified them with holy power, and shot them with arrows, more kept coming. Once one person fell, the next followed soon after.
“Cough…”
Next, Kamilla, who had been on the front line, collapsed after being poisoned.
“Kugh!”
Then Adel was sent flying by a body slam from a special variant and disappeared into the distance. The fallen members were quickly swallowed up by the swarms of insects.
Scritch. Scritch.
The horrifying sound of insects gnawing on flesh filled the air. I found the situation incredibly confusing.
How did this happen…?
What was going on? The battle itself had been flawless. Everyone had performed their roles perfectly, and my holy power was indeed overwhelmingly effective against the insects. So why had things turned out like this?
All my party members had been brought down by the bugs, and I was left standing alone in the middle of millions of insects. The reason was simple. There were far more insects inside the royal castle than we had imagined—enough to completely overwhelm any natural advantage my holy power might have given us.
Scritch-scritch-scritch-scritch.
The constant, skin-crawling sound of insects crawling across the walls echoed endlessly. They were closing in from every direction—front, back, left, right—in real time.
“H-hiiik.”
The sight was so repulsive that my face turned deathly pale. The other party members who had collapsed on the ground were already completely covered by the swarm. And I could easily guess that I would soon share the same fate.
I had been prepared for death, but the reality was far more horrifying than I had imagined. My legs began to tremble uncontrollably.
That was when it happened.
Grab.
Someone seized me by the waist. I let out a dazed sound and turned my head.
“Huh?”
There stood the hero.
The man who had scattered more sin than anyone else. The hero whose very presence made my instincts scream in warning. The man every member of the party suspected was the true mastermind behind everything.
Ironically, he was the last one remaining by my side.
The hero, gripping my side, wore a fierce scowl.
“Tsk. If you had just listened when I tried to talk to you, this wouldn’t have happened. Damn it…”
He looked thoroughly displeased with the entire situation. The usual fake smile was completely gone, replaced by pure irritation.
He looked at me and said,
“Let’s go again.”
“Y-yes? Go where…?”
“Where do you think? We’re going to take the Insect King’s head.”
“But what about the rest of the party…”
“How are we supposed to take care of them in this mess? They won’t die right away from the bugs, so just leave them. Of course, they’ll get some flesh gnawed off, but…”
If you didn’t want that, you should have listened from the beginning.
With that muttered complaint, he shot forward.
Bang!
His body surged ahead as if slicing through the air. The fact that I was being dragged along, tucked under his arm, was just an added bonus.
While carrying me, the hero spoke.
“From now on, keep spreading holy power around us continuously. That’s more important than buffs right now. You still have enough divine energy, right?”
“Huh? Y-yes… I still have some…”
“Ha. You always ran out whenever you healed me before, but looks like you’ve got plenty this time.”
He sneered with open mockery. It was a complaint he had never voiced before, but I had no choice but to listen quietly.
For now, I did as he said and scattered holy power around us. The glowing divine energy surrounded both the hero and me like fireflies in the dark. The insects drawn to the light charged at us, but they couldn’t pass through the veil of light I had created and simply collapsed on the spot.
“I’m going to pick up the pace now. Hold on tight.”
“O-okay…”
From that point on, the hero’s navigation began in earnest. Trusting in the burning veil of light around us, he charged without hesitation toward any insects blocking our path. Each time he did, a path would open, and he would sprint down it at full speed. Our destination was the same as before—the audience chamber where the Insect King resided.
After running like that for about thirty minutes, we finally reached Valcan’s quarters.
“…Hoo.”
A spine-chilling voice that sounded like metal scraping against metal echoed through the air. The Insect King Valcan’s voice was hoarse, as if his vocal cords had been damaged.
“As expected, even a rotten fish is still a fish. So the hero is still a hero after all.”
We couldn’t see his body. It was completely wrapped in what looked like a cloak and layers of bandages. Whether his eyes were covered or not, the only things I could sense from the Insect King were that horrifying voice and the ominous magical energy that filled the entire space.
“To think you made it all the way here after breaking through my children… and after already losing your comrades, no less. Still, you seem better than the previous hero.”
Gulp.
I swallowed hard and renewed my resolve. If we could just defeat the Insect King, it would all be over. Humanity would find a little more peace, and we could still save my comrades who had been swallowed by the swarm. I gathered my holy power and prepared for battle.
Since I lacked direct combat ability, the only one I could rely on—ironically—was the hero I had despised so much.
“Well then, since you’ve come this far, there’s no need for more words. Come. I shall personally show you what true despair looks like.”
“You’ve always pissed me off every time I look at you. Would it kill you to fight with something a little less fucking disgusting?”
And so the battle began.
* ······And I’ll tell you the result first.
Just as the world does not bend to one’s will simply because they steel their resolve, no amount of determination could change the cruel outcome of this fight.
That’s right.
“Cough!”
“Hero!”
The hero was defeated.