The Saintess Has Fallen

Olivia's blue eyes fluttered open.

Her clouded gaze blinked a few times, drifted across the mossy ceiling and stone walls, and finally came to rest on me. Then she drew in a great, shuddering breath.

"...Violet? Thank goodness. I just had the most horrible nightmare. You know, the one where you turned into something like the Demon King and slaughtered everyone in sight? That's insane, right?"

Poor Olivia. You're still dreaming, aren't you? Dreaming of those happy days that will never come back. I wanted to protect them too, even if you never knew. But you're the one who shattered them. It's far too late now.

"Oh, really? You still think this is a dream, even after seeing these horns? Wake up, Olivia. Time to accept reality. That's the only way this gets fun."

"No! No! This is a dream! It has to be! Just—hold on. Where even is this? What kind of black magic did you use? What about the Empire? Where's Patrick? Violet, I'm begging you, just let me out!"

Her voice climbed higher and higher. With a blank expression, I reached out and seized her hair once more. I slammed her face straight into the ground—her nose cracked, and blood sprayed everywhere.

"Aagh! Let—let go of me! You think you'll get away with this? The Church will never leave you alone! Armies from every nation on earth will come swarming!"

"Yes. Yes. That's the Olivia I know."

"What on earth did I ever do to deserve this!"

"...Hehehe. This is what makes breaking you in so satisfying."

"You're pulling my hair out! You stupid gorilla!"

"Just bear with it a little longer. I'm taking you somewhere nice."

I dragged her along by force. Her knees scraped across the cave floor and she screamed, but I paid it no mind. Wounds like these wouldn't kill her.

And I could always heal them for her, whenever I pleased.

Because you're mine, Olivia.

Yes. You belong to me.

When we stepped out of the cave, the passage stretched onward.

Red flesh undulated along both walls. It was a corridor like the innards of a tower, woven from tentacles. Where should we go? The moment I took a step, the floor responded—parting the way for me, the way a servant recognizes its master's tread and clears a path.

And then something marvelous happened.

With my eyes wide open, the entire tower unfolded inside my head. The long stairways descending below, the darkness crouching in every corner—and the people moving through it all, in real time. It was dizzying.

Was this what it meant to be the Guardian? Every corner of the tower lay bare before me, as if I were reading my own palm. First, I checked on those points of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠light. The ones I'd glimpsed earlier—apparently they called themselves a raid party.

Men with guns. Women with swords. Others brandishing staffs, chanting something under their breath. A combination I'd never seen in my past life on Earth. How to put it... they looked like cosplayers, and I couldn't help but find it funny. A shame, really.

And pathetic, too. Perhaps because they'd never faced anything like the Demon King, every last one of them was an amateur. These people thought they could climb this place? It didn't even warrant a laugh.

"Please... please let me go, Violet..."

Olivia sobbed at my feet. During the drag, her skin had been scraped raw, blood seeping from her knees, her elbows, her palms. But that blood didn't last long. Squirm. Squirm...

Several tentacles stretched out from the wall and pressed themselves flat against her wounds. The bleeding stopped; the torn flesh knit back together. Whenever she was dragged along and a new wound appeared, the tentacles came again. An endless cycle of torment.

It didn't take Olivia long to notice. She went berserk with terror, soaking her clothes through as she thrashed about. What a pathetic sight.

"Then just kill me! Kill me already!"

"You can't die. Not inside this tower."

"Why are you doing this to me! Why!"

"Olivia. Do you really not know?"

I kept stroking the tentacles reaching out from every direction. There, there—that tickles. Look at this, Olivia. These children know too, you see. I can't wait to see how long you keep pretending not to. This will be fun.

"Because I decided it would be so. When I went through hell, I discovered a new emotion. Olivia. You, of all people, I will never let go."

The color drained from her face.

It was the look of someone who had realized that even death would be denied her amid the torment. I savored that expression for a moment. Then I started walking again.

Direction, honestly, didn't matter. Call it instinct. My feet simply carried me toward my destination. When they finally stopped, I was near the ninetieth floor of the dungeon. We'd walked quite a long way.

A massive door loomed directly ahead—a door made of flesh and skin, with bloodline-like veins writhing across its surface. The moment I touched it, a space of pitch-black darkness opened before me.

I didn't need to look closely to know what was inside.

Ah. It's full of my darling little ones in there.

Like babies waiting for their mother.

"Violet...! Wh-what are those things!"

Olivia staggered backward, her hands shaking.

I tightened my grip on her hair.

Now then, Olivia. Here's a gift for you. Go play nicely with these sweet children.

"Do you remember what you did to Patrick?"

"...What? What are you talking about, after everything?"

"That body you were so proud of."

"N-no way...? No, right? Right?"

"You. You were going to crawl into the Crown Prince's bed to claim the Saintess's seat, weren't you? So why don't you put that precious talent of yours to use here too."

Her lips trembled. She opened her mouth as if to deny it, then shut it again. See? I knew it. You filthy woman. If you love spreading your legs so much, how about giving it a try over there as well?

"Go on. Seduce them. The ones in there."

"No! No! I said no! Save me! Please, save me!"

"Don't worry. You won't die."

"Stay away! Stay away! Don't touch me! Get off me!"

I flung Olivia into the darkness.

Before she could even whimper a word, tentacles came pouring in from every side. They swarmed over her slender limbs, tore her clothes apart, and burrowed deep inside.

"I—I can't do this here... N-no! Not there! Please, I'm begging you. N-not that! Don't go in! Don't go in, I said! AAAAAHHH!"

A scream like something being torn apart echoed from beyond the door. It went on for a while, then died down—only to rise again shortly after. Then it quieted once more. So noisy, Olivia.

"Everyone, keep it reasonable. Don't kill her."

I placed my hand on the door and gave a brief command. The movement paused for a moment, then resumed, as if to say understood. They must have been starving all this time. Poor things. I spun around in a circle, humming a lilting tune like a dance.

My steps felt lighter than they had in ages.

I could die now with no regrets at all. Except for one nagging irritation that had been with me for a while now. Notifications kept ringing in my head without pause. It was enough to give me a headache.

At first I ignored them, but the intervals kept shrinking. Now one popped up every time I took a step. Unable to bear it any longer, I finally examined the notifications properly. What on earth were these things!

Only then did I realize what they actually were. My brow creased on its own. So every time an intruder died inside the tower, points accumulated—and those points fueled its growth. That was the system.

"A game wagered on human lives. How horrifying."

A sigh escaped me. Even now, at this very moment, invaders were dying after trespassing into the tower. Left as it was, those amateurs would be wiped out to the last.

And strangely enough, that sat poorly with me.

It wasn't pity. I'd left that behind at the bottom of a cliff. I simply hated watching people die so meaninglessly, without my will having any say in it—even if I was the wicked woman who destroyed the Empire.

Not that I had any clever fix at hand. I didn't even know how to stop the tower in the first place. I couldn't tell whether those points could be used to prevent death. It was all a mystery.

Come to think of it, why this tower had chosen me as its Guardian was a complete enigma too. Thinking it over wasn't going to produce answers. When in doubt, there was only one thing to do.

Soak in clean, clear water and wash it all away.

That would make me feel much better.

I could scrub off the bloodstains while I was at it.

Which meant I needed to find water. I searched the map in my head. There had to be clean water somewhere in the tower. Here? Let's go a little deeper. Found it! So it was this way.

There it was—roughly within ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the forty-fifth floor, judging by the position. A clear, pond-like pool. The instant I pictured it vividly in my mind, the ground vanished from beneath my feet and the scenery around me inverted. It startled me.

"...Well, no more tedious walking, I suppose."

It was similar to being sucked from space down to Earth, except this time I could travel at will. Could I really go anywhere inside the tower that I wished?

I looked around. The water was ringed in stone, so transparent the bottom showed clearly through it. A mirror would be redundant. With water like this, I wouldn't even need purification magic.

I supposed I'd simply undress. But near the rocks, a thin garment had been laid out and waiting. I didn't know ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who had prepared it, but at this point nothing surprised me. I'd change into that.

I set my clothes neatly on the floor, slipped into the thin garment, and dipped my feet into the water. Neither cold nor hot. I'd expected it to be ice-cold inside a cave, but it was surprisingly pleasant. Excellent.

I lowered myself in slowly, up to my shoulders. The grey ash washed away, and the blood beneath my nails vanished with it. When I rinsed out my hair, the tentacles rose to support my back. Quite perceptive of them. Well then, I suppose I'll accept the courtesy.

For the first time in ages, a moment without a single worry had found me. How long had it been since I enjoyed a moment's peace? Every day had been a mad blur. And then, right before my eyes, light suddenly flared. It was blinding.

The water rippled, and three strangers appeared—as if dropped out of thin air. One landed on her backside; the other two reflexively raised their weapons. Now what? This was awkward.

"Damn it! I knew this would happen!"

"That floor earlier—it was a teleportation trap!"

"Quiet! There's something up ahead!"

Their gazes locked onto me instantly.

I never dreamed I'd run into someone at a moment like this.

Bathing, of all things. Was this really happening to me?

Two women, one man. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The swordswoman stood at the front—short black hair, sharp eyes. She looked like the leader. Beside her, the woman with the light-blue bob leveled her staff, and the man raised his gun.

Was a fight about to break out? On Earth of all places, I wanted to avoid harming humanity as much as possible, but this was turning into a troublesome situation. For now, I'd observe and then decide. Maybe it would end peacefully...

"Don't move! Who the hell are you?"

The woman with the sword barked. Her voice bristled with blades, and her fingertips trembled. I gazed up at them from the water for a long moment.

I quietly drew the tentacles that had been supporting my back back into the water and sat up. The thin garment soaked through and clung, sagging with its weight of water. They flinched and stepped back—perhaps because the fabric had gone faintly see-through. Their faces flushed red, too.

Since it was a performance I'd staged to some degree, I simply smiled, unbothered. I approached them the way the Saintess once had—toward plague patients writhing in agony, toward orphans who had lost their homes, toward the Goddess's faithful.

My body and soul had changed, but I hadn't forgotten the days I spent as the Saintess. Wearing a pitiable expression, I extended both hands forward.

"I'm sorry for startling you. Please, don't be afraid—I won't harm you. I am Violet, a Saintess who serves the Goddess. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I am bound to this tower. It is an honor to meet you brave souls."

I lowered my voice and let it flow soft and smooth. I whispered in that same tone that once soothed the kneeling faithful in the temple courtyard. The man holding the gun was already staring at me with a dazed expression. As if struck by pure lust.

"I am this tower's guide."

With that, silence fell. They exchanged furtive glances. The woman whose eyes shone with the strongest suspicion gripped her sword's hilt. Unlike the others, she had a discerning eye. Useful taste, that.

"A guide? First I've heard of that."

"This tower is... different from the others, you see."

"...Is that true? You're not some kind of mermaid, are you?"

"I swear it on the Goddess's name."

The woman hesitated for a long while. During that time, the man fidgeting with his gun finally came to his senses, slapped his own cheeks hard, and gasped for air.

"Boss, isn't that thing a monster? We don't even know where we are. Look at the horn on its head. I've never seen one that big. If it's a demon, it's Calamity-grade at minimum, right?"

"You ever seen a monster talk like that?"

"There are Speaking Monsters though. On Floor 5—"

"Shut it. We don't have any options anyway."

"...Fair enough. You're right. Sorry."

In the end, the woman reluctantly approached. She didn't lower her sword, and her hand remained wrapped around the hilt—poised to draw and lunge at the first suspicious move.

"Do you... happen to know the exit of this place?"

I nodded.

"I will guide you to safety."

At those words, the man let out a breath of relief, but the swordswoman still looked only half-convinced. Just then, the light-blue-haired woman with the staff edged closer and spoke up carefully.

"Could you be one of those NPCs that's been all the rage in the towers lately?"

"NPCs? Are those real? I thought it was just a ghost story?"

"Boss, please start watching the news. I'm begging you!"

"Tch! Fine, then tell me what an NPC even is."

"There are rumors that they sometimes appear in the higher towers. Beings that look almost human and give you information about the tower. Each one is different, but apparently some of them will even negotiate."

I was briefly at a loss for words. An NPC, of all things...

Weren't those the dolls in games that repeated nothing but pre-set lines? The ones who stood at village entrances saying the same thing over and over? But no excuse came to mind. I simply nodded.

"......Yes. That's right. Probably."

"Boss, she really is an NPC!"

"You're sure? She's not some monster in disguise?"

"Just trust me! I'm telling you it's her!"

"Fine. But if we die, it's on you."

The woman gripping her sword finally relaxed her hand. The man lowered his gun barrel toward the floor. The taut atmosphere dissolved in an instant.

"Then... we're in your hands."

"Of course. Follow me."

I turned my back and walked ahead. The three of them no longer guarded against me. Instead, they simply stared, marveling, looking me up and down.

The Saintess who saved a continent. The monster who devoured the Demon King's remnants. The avenger who burned the Empire to ashes. The mysterious Guardian of the tower. And now—an NPC, too.

What title would they pin on me next?

What a remarkably eventful life I lead.

And it's all Olivia's fault.