The Saintess's Descent into Madness

The clock read 21:30.

"Wow, that bitch's scent is really thick on you this time, huh?"

Adelia's voice dropped to a low, dangerous murmur. The tip of her nose brushed against my shirt collar as she sniffed intently, like a drug-sniffing dog obsessively tracking every trace of Yuriel left on my body.

"Haa... Roy. Didn't I tell you last time?"

Her gaze slowly traveled downward. Past my eyes, my lips, my throat... until it locked between my legs. Those crimson eyes stopped dead on the most private, vulnerable spot.

"If you come back smelling like that again... I'll carve it out."

Shing.

A chilling dagger gleamed in her hand.

'She's not joking...?'

Her eyes had already slipped halfway past the edge of reason.

That precarious number flickered like a warning light. Murderous intent burned in her eyes. Madness that looked ready to spill blood at any second. Any ordinary person would have collapsed, legs giving out from sheer terror.

But I didn't back down. If I yielded now, I'd never escape being her 'toy.' To become her master, I had to seize control right here, right now. Instead, I took one bold step ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠closer. Close enough that the dagger's tip nearly pressed against my stomach.

"You! Are you seriously pointing a knife at me right now?"

"Huu... I don't want to hear any excuses. If I just cut it off, you won't be able to go to that disgusting bitch anymore."

"Ha."

I let out a disbelieving laugh and grabbed the razor-sharp blade of her dagger with my bare hand.

Squelch.

"Kyaaak! R-Roy?!"

She tried to yank the knife away in shock, but I gripped it even tighter. The flesh of my palm tore open, and bright red blood dripped steadily onto the floor. Agonizing pain shot up my hand, but I didn't even flinch as I stared her down.

"Hey! Is this... really what you call faith?"

My voice rang coldly through the room.

"You said I was your salvation? Your light? And yet you're trying to judge me over something as trivial as a smell?"

"Ah......"

Her gaze fixed on the blood flowing from my hand. Drip. Drip. The moment she saw it, the last thread of her sanity seemed to snap.

"Eh...? Ehhh...?"

Clang!

She dropped the dagger. Her pupils shook wildly, as if struck by an earthquake. Uncontrollable moans and self-loathing spilled from her lips.

"Why... is there blood...? Did I...? Did I make my faith bleed? Hehe... I can't... I shouldn't be like this..."

She stumbled backward until her legs gave out and she collapsed. Grabbing fistfuls of her own hair, she writhed in agony.

"Ugh... I'm really just a crazy bitch... I can't even control myself... Sob... sob..."

She was in full panic mode. The guilt was crushing her. The world's greatest hero was crumbling in despair over a few drops of my blood, as if her entire world had ended.

"I'm broken... I'm so broken... I can't be fixed... I hurt Roy... I have to die... If I die, will it get better? If I slit my throat and regress again, will Roy be okay?"

"Snap out of it!! Adelia!"

"Huaaang... I'm sorry... Roy, please don't abandon me... I'm a crazy bitch, but... please... just don't throw me away."

She crawled on her knees and cradled my bloodied hand with both of hers. I could feel her grip trembling violently. She tried to wipe the blood with her sleeve, but when it only smeared further, her face crumpled in despair. Then, as if entranced by the metallic scent, she buried her nose against it.

Lick.

She pressed her lips to the wound on my palm. Her hot, wet tongue slid across the torn flesh. Like a beast trying to clean something filthy, or a fanatic desperate not to miss a single drop of holy water.

"Aah... mmm... it's warm... my faith... Roy..."

"Hic... with this blood... my sins..."

Her eyes rolled back in a strange ecstasy. The exact moment her guilt twisted into fanatical worship. She smeared the blood from her lips onto her own palm, then began rubbing it across her face.

Smear. Smear.

Her white cheeks, forehead, the bridge of her nose—her beautiful, noble face gradually turned crimson with my blood. To her, it must have felt like the most sacred and solemn 'baptism' to become one with her god.

"Please forgive me... How dare I... doubt my god..."

She looked up at me with a face streaked in tears and blood, begging. The sight was so grotesque, yet so devastatingly beautiful that—

'Ah...'

A sharp pain pierced my chest. It wasn't mere pity. This was the protagonist of the novel I'd read for ten years in The Pilgrim of Eternal Night. The woman who should have shone brighter than anyone—after 999 cycles of despair, how lonely must she have been? How desperately thirsty for salvation, that a single drop of my blood could shatter her like this?

The realization hurt more than I could bear.

'I'm so... sorry.'

For not protecting you. For only showing up now... and letting you break like this.

"...It must have been so hard, being alone all this time, huh?"

Drip. Drip. Hot tears spilled from my eyes. Not acting—genuine sorrow and regret.

One of those tears fell onto Adelia's blood-stained cheek.

"......?"

Adelia froze. She slowly lifted her head. My tear spread across her bloodied face like rain on parched earth.

Her crimson eyes captured my face. My twisted expression as I cried for her.

"Eh? Why...? Roy...? You're... crying...?"

Her eyes widened in disbelief. Shock. Her one and only god was shedding tears for her. Not in anger or punishment, but pure pity and sorrow.

"Why...? Why would you cry for someone like me... Hic, huaang..."

To her, it must have felt like salvation itself.

'I'll save you.'

I clenched my fist tightly, making a silent vow. In this insane world, in this broken story, I will definitely save you—my protagonist.

With my bloodied hand, I gently lifted her chin.

"Adelia, don't cry."

"Hic, huaang... Roy... doesn't it hurt so much? Hic... the blood, it's not stopping..."

"It's okay. It doesn't hurt. How could it hurt when you're crying for me like this?"

My gentle voice, my warm touch—her eyes grew hazy as she stared at me.

"Aah... Roy, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my faith♡ My savior."

The shattered world inside her began piecing itself back together.

......!

My heart pounded wildly. A heavy power flowed through my veins. It was faint, but the change was undeniable. I'd finally climbed from worthless F-class to C-class—the level of a normal combatant.

The more Adelia believed in me, the stronger I would become.

SAN at 0%. Finally, a glimmer of hope appeared. From -99% to '0%'—if I could just fill the rest, I might be able to bring Adelia back to normal.

Her previously hollow eyes had changed. The anxiety was gone, replaced by euphoric bliss and blind love, as if she now possessed the entire world.

"Ah... my Roy... I'm so happy."

With her blood-stained face, she buried herself against my chest. I pulled her into a tight embrace, as if I would never let go again.

......?!

A chill ran down my spine. A gaze? From where? The direction the system indicated was... below us. Right under the bed where Adelia and I were standing.

'Someone's there.'

I acted on instinct. If I panicked and caused a commotion now, whatever was hiding under the bed might burst out and attack. I needed to keep Adelia completely under my control while catching that little rat.

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hardened my expression and roughly shoved Adelia toward the bed.

Thud!

"Kyaa?!"

She tumbled onto the old mattress. Without hesitation, I climbed on top of her and pinned both her arms above her head against the headboard.

"R-Roy...? Why are you suddenly—"

"Shh."

I pressed a finger to her lips. Then I whispered in a low, sticky, seductive voice—something that would sound like lewd pillow talk to the uninvited guest beneath the bed, but would serve as a signal to Adelia.

"By the way... isn't it nice down here?"

"Huh...? Hic... w-what do you mean, down here..."

Adelia's face flushed bright red. Her eyes darted around in confusion. She'd misinterpreted my words as referring to the space between her legs.

"It's dark... damp... narrow... and it squeezes so tightly. Perfect for hiding, don't you think?"

"Haa... Roy, you're so... direct about it... wait, huh?"

She squirmed beneath me until our eyes met. I glanced downward and tapped the underside of the mattress pointedly.

"Right? Little rat?"

"......?"

In that instant, Adelia's expression changed completely. A dangerous glint flashed in her crimson eyes. She'd finally realized I wasn't talking about her body, but what was hiding under the mattress.

Her entire aura flipped 180 degrees. The shy maiden vanished, replaced by the murderous aura of a predator whose territory had been invaded.

Crunch!

At terrifying speed, her hand shot under the mattress. She grabbed something and violently dragged it out like a beast hauling out its prey.

"Kyaaaaak!"

Screaming, the figure dragged from beneath the bed was a petite girl. She had voluminous purple hair in twin-tails, freckles dotting her youthful face, and—contrasting sharply with her innocent features—a voluptuous chest and curvaceous figure. A cute girl standing at 158cm.

"......Scarlet?"

Adelia frowned.

Scarlet von Eberhardt. The Empire's youngest Archmage and Adelia's obsessive stalker. She was thrown roughly to the floor.

"Cough! Kehek...!"

Scarlet coughed, clutching her throat. But there was no fear in her eyes. Even as she rolled across the floor, the gaze she turned toward Adelia was one of pure ecstasy.

"Haa... Big sis... so strong..."

"This crazy bitch actually followed us all the way here?"

Adelia gripped her dagger in a reverse hold. For defiling the sacred bedroom where she was with Roy, there would be no mercy.

"I'll kill you."

"Wait! Adelia!"

I hurriedly stepped in to stop her.

"Ugh, let go, Roy. We can't leave this bitch alive. She's a stalker."

"Calm down. She doesn't even have a weapon."

I had already activated Observer's Eye.

There was no killing intent. Instead, her gaze wasn't fixed on Adelia at all—it was locked on me. The man who had subdued Adelia and was giving her orders.

"......Whoa!"

Scarlet muttered in a daze. Still sitting on the floor, she looked up at me with sparkling eyes.

"This is insane... Who is this guy?"

"......?"

"Our big sis... stopped. She actually stopped her knife because a man told her to."

To Scarlet, Adelia was an absolute being. A lofty slaughterer who ignored everyone and destroyed everything in her path. Yet that same Adelia had gone meek at a single word from an unremarkable man?

"You... tamed her?"

A strange curiosity bloomed in Scarlet's eyes. It was no longer blind fandom toward Adelia. This was fascination with the beast tamer. An instinctive interest in someone who possessed the 'control' she herself lacked.

"Oppa, what's your name? Huh? How did you do it?"

Scarlet crawled forward on all fours, trying to grab my leg.

"Hands off."

Adelia coldly swatted Scarlet's hand away.

"Touch Roy one more time and I'll cut your wrist off."

"Hiiik...!"

Scarlet flinched and quickly withdrew her hand. But a sly grin remained on her lips.

"S-Sorry... It's just so fascinating..."

"Haa..."

Adelia clicked her tongue in exasperation. Her gaze suddenly shifted to my hand. The palm I'd torn open by grabbing her dagger bare-handed. The bleeding still hadn't stopped.

"......!"

Adelia's eyes shook violently. The cold, insect-like stare she'd given Scarlet vanished the instant she saw my wound, replaced by the expression of a child about to burst into tears.

"Huaang... R-Roy... your hand... it's still bleeding..."

"Ah, it's fine. Just a small cut."

"It's not fine! The blood won't stop... because of me... I did it again..."

Tears welled up in her eyes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠once more. Just as she was about to spiral into self-blame, her gaze landed on Scarlet, who was still sprawled on the floor.

In an instant, the temperature in the room plummeted. The tears in Adelia's eyes evaporated, leaving only absolute-zero killing intent.

"Hey, mage bitch."

"Y-Yes? Ah, yeees... Big sis..."

Scarlet trembled as she looked up. Adelia was endlessly gentle with me, but to others, she was an emotionless monster.

"Cast Heal."

"......Huh?"

"Cast it on Roy right now. Make sure not a single scar remains."

Adelia's voice rumbled like it came from the depths of hell.

"Great Heal, specifically."

"......What?!"

Scarlet's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Wait, it's just a cut on his hand! Why would you use high-tier magic?! Light Heal would be more than enough! And 'Great Heal' of all things... do you know how much mana that consumes?!"

Scarlet's protest was perfectly reasonable. But reason had no place when dealing with Adelia.

"Are you going to shut up and do it? Or do you want to die right here?"

Crunch.

Adelia stomped her foot down right beside Scarlet's fingers. The wooden floor screamed and splintered.

"My Roy is bleeding? And you dare complain about wasting mana in front of me?"

"Hii, hiiik...!"

Scarlet's face turned deathly pale. Yet at the same time, her body began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Ahn♡"

A strange, aroused moan slipped out between her terrified whimpers.

"Y-Yes! I'll do it! If Big Sis says so... I'll drain my entire mana pool!"

Fwaaaaah—!

Brilliant light burst from Scarlet's fingertips and enveloped my hand. It was a genius mage's 'Great Heal,' born from a mixture of obsessive madness and sheer terror. The wound on my palm vanished without a trace.

Drip. Drip.

'Is the dorm supervisor here? Damn it.'

"Get out!"

At my shout, Scarlet immediately cast a flight spell.

"Oppa! Big Sis! See you later! I definitely will!"

Where she had been, a small glass vial now lay on the floor. Adelia snatched it up instantly.

"Hmph. This is confiscated."

Without hesitation, she slipped the cold glass vial into the deep cleavage of her voluptuous chest. The purple potion bottle disappeared between her pale breasts. She gave me a meaningful wink.

Adelia then stepped onto the windowsill.

"I'll come back at 2 a.m."

She stroked my cheek. Her eyes looked far more stable than before.

"We'll finish what we started then. Getting rid of that smell."

That was when a voice broke the silence.

"Roy? Are you in there?"

It was the dorm supervisor.

"I heard some commotion. I'm coming in."

Click. Creak.

The door opened and the supervisor stepped inside. He suspiciously scanned the empty room, the open window, and the shattered floor. Then his gaze stopped.

"......What is this blood?"

His eyes locked onto the drops of my blood on the floor. His eyebrows twitched. It was more than simple suspicion—there was something strange and ominous in his expression.

"Ah... well..."

I quickly hid my hand behind my back and made up an excuse.

"I was unpacking and broke some glass. It cut me pretty badly... that's why I screamed earlier..."

"......"

The supervisor silently alternated his gaze between the blood on the floor and my face. The silence felt unnaturally long and heavy.

"Be careful. Blood can attract unwanted guests, you know."

With that cryptic remark, he closed the door and left.

"Haa......"

Only after he was gone did my legs finally give out. I collapsed onto the bed, completely drained.

'Let's wash up first.'

My body was sticky with cold sweat, dust, and blood. And there was still some time before the 2 a.m. Adelia had mentioned.

I grabbed a towel and headed for the communal bathroom at the end of the hallway.

[Current Time: 22:00]

The old building's corridor was deathly quiet, illuminated only by pale moonlight on the tiled floor.

Creak.

I opened the bathroom door and stepped inside. A chilly draft greeted me. I stood in front of an empty urinal.

"Huu..."

I unzipped and began to relieve myself.

Splash... splash...

The sound of water echoed through the silent space.

But something felt wrong.

A shiver.

Sudden goosebumps crawled up my spine like a snake slithering across my skin. A drop of cold sweat trickled down my temple. I was clearly alone. There was no one here. Yet I felt a primal terror—as if someone was watching my every move in excruciating detail.

I blankly lifted my head and looked around. The bathroom was empty except for me. Where was it coming from?

Without even stopping my stream, I slowly tilted my head upward in a daze.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Above the urinal...

Something grotesque was clinging to the wall, staring down at me.