The Neutral Saint Is a Sociopath... Then What? (1)

The Neutral Saint was a sociopath... If that was the case... (1)

Sosia. 41 years old. Female. She had married Ju Yeon, her childhood friend, right after entering university, given birth to Joyeon, and immediately begun her career as a nurse. A career woman who had risen to the position of head nurse with remarkable speed, recognized for her diligence and competence after working day after day at the hospital without any notable incidents. Aside from having married quite quickly, she appeared to those around her as nothing more than an ordinary woman. However, that outward appearance was nothing but an act. She was... perhaps quite different from others. Antisocial personality disorder. Commonly known as a sociopath. She was what society called a psychopath.

Having realized from a young age that she was different from others, Sosia played the role of the ideal, unremarkable person that people wanted. She knew it made life easier. That was why she had created a childhood friend, married quickly to avoid unwanted marriage talks, had a child to silence rumors about her relationship with her husband, and taken a job to secure a comfortable future. It was all a family built solely for her own convenience. ...At least, until Ju Joyeon was born.

Ten long months of hardship. And the pain of childbirth. A period she had endured for the sake of her ordinary, comfortable life. She had thought of it as a brief pain compared to the life ahead, and so she gave birth. The first emotion she felt when she held Joyeon was an attachment she had never experienced in her life before. She felt no irritation or annoyance at her newborn son, still nothing more than a tiny bundle of flesh, gripping her finger and crying loudly. Instead, only a sense of duty to protect him settled in her heart. For Sosia, who had once considered only herself the most important thing in life, Joyeon now occupied the same priority.

The next emotion she felt was anxiety. Her son, born of her. A son who could not help but resemble her. The fear that he might resemble even the parts he should not. The fear that he might become an existence that lived only by calculating the world for his own sake. That was why Sosia kept her distance from her son. Hoping he would not become like her, she supported him from afar so he could grow up like everyone else. It was the best action she could think of for Ju Joyeon.

If asked whether her actions were maternal love, Sosia herself would deny it, saying she could not possibly possess such a thing. If she had to define it, she would call it possessiveness—because he was half of herself, because he was the same kind of being as her. Thanks to Sosia's efforts, just as she had wished, Ju Joyeon grew up ordinary. No. He had grown up ordinary.

'If only there were no hostages... If there were no hostages...'

With a dazed expression, Joyeon lifted his head and surveyed his surroundings. The restaurant was still in chaos. Slowly, he assessed the hostages. Arty and Tiasia beside Ragon, Sosia beside Delpiari, and the countless people inside the restaurant.

'Hostages... There are no hostages except Mom and Arty.'

Aside from his mother Sosia and Arty, whom he had to keep alive because of the Ability God, Joyeon saw no other hostages.

'The situation isn't that bad. Why did I think it was so difficult? I just need ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to get Mom and Arty out safely. After that, I can just abandon everything and run. But how do I save them?'

Joyeon checked his own condition again. The mana-restraining bracelet forced on him under the threat of Sosia's life. And for some reason, his followers who had not come to rescue him.

'...This is annoying. What the hell are they all doing?'

Though he showed nothing on the surface, extreme irritation toward Delpiari welled up inside Joyeon, whose abilities were completely restricted. Fortunately, perhaps because his way of thinking had changed, he quickly found a breakthrough.

'Come to think of it, as long as they don't die, it's fine. Mom and Arty too.'

Joyeon thought of something no ordinary person would ever consider.

"Why don't you try begging for your life at least once? Kuhuhuhu."

Seeing Delpiari sneering at him, Joyeon immediately put his idea into action.

"...[#$%^](What are the components of a human being?)"

His small voice spread like a murmur.

"Huh? Joyeon-ssi. What did you just say?"

"[$*(&%](Humans are composed of oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium.)"

"...? Could you speak so I can understand? What are you..."

Delpiari, who had been speaking to Joyeon with a smile, noticed blood flowing from his nose.

"Why is my nose bleeding all of a sudden..."

"[@$^#$@](If you ask whether humans can be created with just that, the answer is no. Because humans are divided into body and soul.)"

His voice seemed audible only to Delpiari nearby. Yet somehow, it quietly echoed throughout the entire restaurant. Ragon's party, Tria's party, Sosia, Arty, and everyone else in the restaurant turned their heads toward the source of the voice as incomprehensible words dug into their ears amid ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the chaos.

"[@&@%!^\*](Many have studied the body, but none have studied the soul until now. Because there was no one who understood the soul...)"

Ju Joyeon let the people hear words they should never have heard.

'This isn't magic. It's just words that shouldn't be heard. I don't know how much one has to hear to die, but even when I showed it to the boss before, he didn't die right away.'

What Joyeon had come up with to turn the situation around was the recitation of the forbidden text that Sirius had strictly warned him never to speak in front of others. The worst possible action—one that could bring death to those who heard it—he committed in a place filled with countless people.

His actions were quiet, yet overwhelmingly lethal.

'Shut up. I'm doing this to save them. Don't annoy me.'

Thud!

And not long after, the first victim appeared. A patient ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who had been in a wheelchair due to poor health, though far from Joyeon, suddenly vomited blood and lost consciousness.

"Kyaaah!!"

Starting with that patient, the restaurant turned into pandemonium. As if distance meant nothing, those in poor health began collapsing one by one, bleeding from their noses. Even Tria, who had not yet fully recovered, could not keep his balance and collapsed. His party members were too busy tending to themselves to support him.

Having barely grasped the cause of the anomaly, Delpiari raised both hands to cover his ears.

"[&*(^#@$](That is why I have studied the soul, a domain that has remained unknown until now.)"

'Larasian Iron Wall Grappling Technique...'

Seizing that moment, Joyeon drove his elbow into Delpiari's unguarded jaw.

"Ghk...!"

Delpiari, struck squarely in the jaw by Joyeon's relentless attack, suffered a mild concussion and collapsed.

"[$%&#@](In this book, I will record everything I have learned about the soul.)"

'Can I kill him by stomping? If I smash him with the iron ball, he'll die, right?'

Joyeon raised his foot, intending to kill the fallen Delpiari immediately.

'......'

The Ability God kept speaking to him through the notification window. Frowning, Joyeon turned to check on Arty's condition. Like the others, she was bleeding from her nose and had lost consciousness. Fortunately, Tiasia, who had been beside her, was unaffected as an undead and was holding Arty up to keep her from falling.

Joyeon turned again to check on Sosia. She had not lost consciousness, but her face was deathly pale as she struggled to look at him.

'Sixth line of the recitation. I can't recite the forbidden text any longer... But I can't just leave these guys like this. In that case...'

Supporting Sosia, Joyeon immediately considered his next move.

'Should I shoot them? Maybe the aftereffects of the recitation will wear off while I kill all twelve. I have to protect Arty and Mom safely. Preparing a gun... Yeah, that's too much. Then...'

"Lara."

"Y-yes!"

Tiasia approached Joyeon while carrying Arty in a princess carry.

"Break the bracelet on my wrist."

"Yes!... Huh?"

"The bracelet. Smash it. There's no way to just take it off anyway."

What Joyeon needed was magic after all. If he could use Bone Armor and Bone Spear without incantation with both hands free, he could cleanly resolve the current situation. To do that, he first had to destroy the stupid bracelet on his arm.

If Delpiari had not been bluffing, destroying the perfectly fitted bracelet on his wrist would require breaking his hand along with it.

"B-but Master! If you do that..."

"Lara Tiasia."

A hint of irritation appeared on Joyeon's face. It was an expression he had never shown Tiasia before.

"Y-yes!"

"There's no time. It's an order. Stop wasting time and listen."

"Ah, ugh...! Yes!"

Joyeon placed his hand on the floor and looked at Tiasia. Biting her lip, Tiasia struck the bracelet fitted to Joyeon's wrist with her fist.

Crack!

The sound of Joyeon's wrist bone breaking echoed. Along with it, the metal bracelet on his wrist cracked and shattered.

"Kgh... Aagh...!"

"M-Master...!"

Joyeon's face twisted in pain he had never experienced in his life.

"Damn it... Because of this trash..."

He shifted all the blame for his pain onto Delpiari. Cursing Delpiari, Joyeon endured the pain in his broken wrist and supported Sosia with his uninjured hand. At the same time, the Book of Death shot out from his inventory according to his will, glowing with a bloody light.

Twelve Bone Spears appeared in the air. Their targets: the heads of every member of Kelts Pitra.

"Die, you trash."

The magic Joyeon had prepared while wrecking his own hand. Thanks to that resolve, Kelts Pitra, still unable to move properly due to the aftereffects of the forbidden text, could not resist.

Thud-thud-thud!

Simultaneously fired, the Bone Spears pierced the heads of Kelts Pitra, killing them instantly. All except one.

"Kgh...! This is ridiculous...!"

The Bone Spear aimed at Delpiari was blocked by a semi-transparent mana barrier, failing to kill him.

'Same type of magic as Bone Armor? Annoying...'

"Lara. Kill that bastard."

"Yes!"

This time, without any protest, Tiasia immediately swung her leg toward Delpiari. Unlike the other Kelts Pitra members, Delpiari, who had already suffered a concussion from Joyeon's elbow, could not dodge the obvious kick. Once again, the barrier that had blocked the Bone Spear appeared to stop Tiasia's leg, but her leg, possessing power on a completely different level from the Bone Spear, shattered the barrier in an instant.

Thud!

Delpiari, kicked mercilessly by Tiasia, flew like a ragdoll and crashed into the wall in a corner of the restaurant. Seeing him fall to the ground without even managing a proper landing, Joyeon judged that even if he was not dead, he would not be getting up, and turned his attention away to prepare for escape.

"Lara, how's Arty's condition?"

While asking, Joyeon checked Arty's condition himself.

"Ah, she should be fine. Her complexion is returning to normal, and the nosebleed has stopped."

Hearing Tiasia's words, Joyeon grabbed Arty's shoulders and shook her forcefully.

"Wake up, Arty."

"...Ugh..."

"Get up quickly. It'll be bad if we delay any longer."

"Ugh... J-Joyeon...? What on earth did you do..."

"I'll explain later. Lara, wake Arty up properly and help her move on her own. Mom, can you stand? Should I carry you? We need to run away quickly."

Leaving the barely conscious Arty to Tiasia again, Joyeon spoke to Sosia. Sosia, hearing his words, weakly grabbed his arm and said,

"Run away...? What about the hospital..."

"We have to give it up. There are 350 Wartrolls. I don't know exactly, but if Kan and Ron were taken down, they're quite strong monsters. We'll die if we stay here."

"No..."

"What do you mean, no?"

"The hospital... We can't give it up..."

"Mom, snap out of it. We can't protect this place anymore. You heard what the Kelts Pitra guys said. If we don't deal with all the Wartrolls..."

"Listen to your mother, Ju Joyeon."

"......"

"This hospital is one of the few neutral zones in this world... It can't disappear like this... We have to protect it no matter what."

To Joyeon, Sosia's words made no sense at all. It seemed like an utterly inefficient and meaningless resistance. And Joyeon had more than enough strength to drag her away by force. If he simply ignored her words and took only Arty and Sosia out of the hospital, there would be no need to fight the Wartrolls. But Joyeon did not ignore Sosia's words.

"...Haa. Lara."

"Yes!"

"We're protecting the hospital. What do we do first?"

"D-defense, you mean? First, since this place has no outer walls, basic defense would be..."

"Tell me what we can actually do."

"F-first, I believe gathering our forces should be the priority!"

"Forces... Let's head out for now. The people here don't seem to be in any condition to fight."

"Yes!"

Supporting Arty and Sosia together with Tiasia, Joyeon left the restaurant.