BAD END: The Saintess (4)

It was from that moment onward. That was when my hellish days truly began.

Valcan, the Insect King, defeated the Hero and simply cast him aside. I stared for a moment at the Hero's cold corpse.

A wave of terror seized me. I could not believe this was real.

"Now it's just the two of us."

Valcan approached me then. His bandaged hand reached toward me. The bandages were torn in several places, likely from wounds inflicted by the Hero's sword. Through the gaps, I could see the flesh beneath.

Skin so decayed it had dried out completely, like withered wood. Blue veins bulging grotesquely. Centipedes and scorpions crawling across them······

How could a body end up like that······? His form had long since distanced itself from life.

"Do you know what my dream is?"

As I fought back nausea, he spoke.

"Take a guess. I'm in an excellent mood right now. Who knows? If you answer correctly, I might even show mercy······"

I racked my brain desperately. Yet, perhaps because fear had frozen my thoughts, the only answer I could produce was this:

"D-defeating the Hero······"

"Wrong. That is one of my dreams, but it is not the greatest one."

He grinned.

"My dream is to create gu poison. A truly vicious gu capable of plunging the world into chaos······"

Gu poison. The method of sealing snakes, centipedes, and scorpions inside a single jar. The venomous creatures trapped within fight and kill one another until only a single survivor remains. I had learned at the cathedral that the completed gu creature possesses tremendous power.

"Since the beginning of human history, only three gu have ever been created. Each became a recorded calamity in human history before being sealed away and imprisoned. Isn't it beautiful that a single living being can strike terror into tens of thousands?"

He stroked my cheek. Through the loosened bandages, his eyes became visible. His dark-red pupils gleamed with madness.

"I have long prepared the ingredients to create gu. And finally, today, all the ingredients have gathered. What kind of vile thing will emerge when the most sacred is defiled by the most filthy method······? Are you not curious, Saintess?"

Only then did I realize. The "ingredient" he spoke of was me.

"Do not worry. You will live for a very long time. I will make certain of it."

Thinking back, I should have bitten my tongue even then.

"Kyaaaaah—!!!"

"Be quiet. You will startle my children."

"Kyaaah—!!! Kyaaah!! Kyaaaaah!!!"

The first day after the Hero's death. He threw me into a pit swarming with countless insects. Maggots, ants, earthworms, cockroaches—dozens of species crawled over every inch of my body.

"Since it is the first day, you will need time to become acquainted with my children. Do not worry. I have personally asked them to treat you with care. They will not do anything unnecessary."

I screamed. I screamed. I screamed······

The horrifying sensation of those creatures crawling across my skin made me feel as though I would go mad, so I had no choice but to scream. At times my voice gave out completely, yet I could not stop. Whenever a maggot burrowed into my ear or a fly entered my mouth, an indescribable revulsion surged up. My throat, ruined from screaming, was healed by holy power on its own, and I screamed again······ The cycle repeated endlessly.

The third day.······They say humans are creatures of adaptation. After two days, I had grown somewhat accustomed to the horrifying sensation of insects crawling over my entire body. The unpleasant feeling remained, of course, but I managed to recover a fragment of my reason. Thanks to that, I realized I had to escape this place. I could not simply rot away and die here. The Hero's party had been defeated, but······ someone still needed to deliver the news to the Empire. The people who had lost hope would also need someone to support them.

······That is what I told myself, but in truth, my most desperate wish was simply to escape this place.

Once I had decided on a plan, I put it into action immediately. I purified the remaining paralyzing poison with my holy power and burned away the insects covering my body. I even applied the stealth techniques I had learned from Adel out of boredom to the best of my ability, all to avoid detection by Valcan.

It went smoothly. Up until the middle.

"How dare you, you insolent wench."

There was one thing I had overlooked. This castle was essentially Valcan's eyes and ears. Though I had been cautious, I could not deceive the full range of the Insect King's detection.

Thus, my escape plan ended in vain. All that remained were yet another despair, even stricter surveillance, and a horrific punishment.

"Since you rebelled, you must receive appropriate discipline. So that you never again think of escaping. From now on, do not expect even a shred of mercy from me."

"Please wait! I was wrong!! Just a moment······!!"

The place I was moved to afterward was a chamber filled with venomous insects. It was······ truly worthy of being called hell. Insects possessing paralyzing poison, neurotoxins, acidic venom, and hemorrhagic toxins bit into me. Nausea and vomiting followed. My breathing grew labored. My flesh melted away. The agony was more horrifying than I could have imagined, and the thought that I would rather die dominated my mind. Yet they tormented me only to the point where I would not die. I spent two days there. An eternity-like third and fourth night passed in that manner.

"I have something to show you."

"······"

The fifth day. Valcan came to see me once more, though I was already exhausted from continuous torture. Fear rose within me, yet I could not move. I was simply too weary to react. Regardless, Valcan dragged me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠somewhere and threw me down.

And there······

"Your companions."

My party members were there. Or rather, what had once been my party members. They were nothing more than lumps of meat now. It was, in a word, decomposition. Just as microorganisms would strip flesh from a corpse buried in a grave, my companions had undergone the exact same process at the hands of insects.

"Ah······"

Kamilla's valiant eyes were gone. Only empty eye sockets remained. Adel's smooth, obsidian-like skin was also gone. Only a maggot-ridden husk riddled with holes remained. Lily, the brilliant child······ was no longer there either. Only a red-haired girl who had died with a face twisted in agony remained.

"Aah······"

I could not speak. A stifling sensation, as though something were lodged in my throat, overwhelmed me. Before I knew it, tears were streaming from my eyes. Why? Why had it come to this······? We had not marched into the Demon Realm for an end like this······

"As expected of representatives chosen from the human race. Their vitality is remarkably tenacious. They only stopped breathing yesterday. To think they remained alive even after being gnawed upon by insects until their skin was stripped away. Heh heh······ Thanks to that, I was able to collect ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a great deal of resentment."

"······"

Valcan looked at me and spoke.

"Do not worry. I will not turn you into that so quickly. The first week was merely a game."

Thud. His bandaged hand rested on my shoulder.

"In the second week, I will implant venomous insects directly into your body. Just like the gu. We must at least prepare a vessel worthy of becoming gu. In the third week, I will have to offer one of your limbs to my children. After all, as the Saintess, your limbs will regenerate quickly, will they not? And in the fourth week, the large species······"

With each word, a chill ran down my spine. He calmly explained the future that awaited me. That future was so horrifying and terrifying that I could not even bear to imagine it.

"And after that, you will be active as a mother."

"······What?"

Yet nothing was more terrifying than what he said next.

"Exactly as it sounds. You will become the mother who gives birth to the citizens of my kingdom. Trapped in the deepest depths of the earth, violated by all manner of large species······ you will diligently lay eggs."

"A-ah······"

"Do not worry. You are the most important resource in my castle. I will never let you die."

"A-aah······"

I sat where I was and sobbed. The fate given to me was so wretched and horrifying that I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could not endure without crying. Seeing me like that seemed to please him, for Valcan spoke with rapturous eyes.

"Aah······ Yes. That is the expression! More! Suffer more for me. Live long and continue to emit resentment and hatred. Condense the grudges within your heart as they are. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠And finally, finally······"

"Aaaah·········"

"Undergo metamorphosis for me."

I wept for a long time. Even after Valcan and his insects left, even as my companions' corpses were carried away somewhere, I remained seated on the floor, crying. Only despair remained, swirling beside me.

The fifth day passed in that manner.

The sixth day. I had adapted to everything. I had resigned myself to everything. The insects crawling over my body, the lingering pain of poison, the heavy emotion occupying a corner of my heart—I no longer felt the urge to drive any of them away. Only one thought filled my mind.

'Will I have to live like this from now on?'

And how long would that "from now on" be? Ten years? Twenty years? Or would it continue even across centuries? Would I even be allowed to die? The longer I imagined the years stretching ahead, the deeper my despair grew. Each time, tears welled in my eyes.

The sixth night was filled only with such thoughts.

After crying endlessly, falling asleep from exhaustion, and crying again, several hours passed. When I suddenly came to my senses, something was hanging on the castle wall. I knew immediately what it was.

"······"

It was the Hero's taxidermied corpse. His arms and legs severed, his skin preserved—the Hero's corpse. It was displayed in Valcan's audience chamber, mounted in a frame. Upon seeing it, Valcan merely uttered a single satisfied remark.

"A memento."

"······"

A memento. That endlessly light expression described the Hero's end.

"It is also proof that I captured the Hero. With this, I too shall be recorded in the history books by future generations. Heh heh······ I am already looking forward to what will be written."

With those words, he left the audience chamber. He did not even direct any further blasphemous words or additional torment toward me. Yet I could only stand there blankly for a long time. After a while, I looked at the Hero's corpse hanging on the wall.

"······"

I still do not know his true identity. I do not know why so much guilt flowed behind his back. I do not know why I felt such unpleasant sensations whenever I looked at him, nor why he remained until the very end, fighting the Demon King's army despite receiving such contempt. However, one thing is certain: he was undoubtedly the Hero. He remained until the last moment and fought fiercely against the Demon King's army. And we······ suspected him of being a spy who did not exist and drove him into a corner while watching him do so.

Now that he has become nothing more than a lump of meat, I even wonder why I hated the Hero so much. This is the price of distrust. All my party members are dead, the Hero has been taxidermied, and I will remain here, suffering for the rest of my life.

"I'm sorry······"

I offered a quiet apology before the Hero's corpse. The other party could no longer hear me, and there was no one to listen, yet I could not stop. The quiet murmurs soon turned into sobs and spilled onto the floor.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry······"

This is our ending. An ending devoid of honor or glory, filled only with pain and misery. Late regret came rushing in. If······ if I were given another chance, I would not have treated him so harshly······

"I am truly sorry······"

Thus, I sat there blankly for several hours.

······It was then.

Suddenly, the world stopped.