The Fallen Saintess
Ralka opened the door to the nest and bowed her head to Adel as she spoke.
"Then...."
"Yeah. It's best to hurry. Browsing the goods is fun, but it's not something worth dragging out. Keep in mind—the longer it takes to report back, the thinner Kalderet's patience wears."
"Got it."
"Go."
She gave Adel's words a reluctant look for a moment before turning away.
That woman. She won't last long.
Kalderet muttered lowly, staring at Ralka's departing back.
Adel, if she's one of the void's followers, then she must have crossed paths with you before. Was she someone dear to you?
"What do you mean by that?"
Exactly what I said. Someone close to you. A lover, perhaps, or a servant....
"Nothing like that."
Adel flushed slightly and shot back in flustered denial at Kalderet's words.
Out of character for you to get embarrassed over something like this.
"...Forget it."
Well, anyway—if she's contracted to Jipla, she'll end up tangled with us eventually. Best to keep it in mind. Did you see her eyes?
Adel nodded.
"You mean the demon eyes?"
Right. Half-discolored already. Looks like she's come a long way with Jipla's demon eyes.
Jipla's demon eyes. They were a kind of divine poison that manifested in contractors of the god of corruption, Jipla.
"I knew that much. Humans can't wield a god's power without divine poison gradually building up in their bodies. But the gods of corruption follow a different path."
The three gods of corruption rank below me, but their blessings rival mine in strength. Which means their divine poison is just as potent.
"Exactly."
As an ancient god, I can regulate it. But those ones—they spew it all out into their human contractors with every use of divine power. That woman, Ralka? Keep using her blessing like that, and she'll vanish into nothing.
"That's why she's here."
...Hm?
"To purge Jipla's divine poison, we need to know her origins."
Well, now. No need for me to spell it out, then. Never met a human like you before.
"Take it as a compliment."
Heh heh....
Leaving Kalderet's chuckle behind, Adel began scanning Ralka's nest.
"I've been here before, but still... what a scale. This rivals a royal treasury."
The warehouse, dubbed the Queen Spider's nest, stretched across three underground levels. Each floor was so vast in height it felt like the bottoms vanished into endless depths.
"Value-wise, nothing compares—but right now, only a few items are ones I can use. I'll snag a bit of the high-value stuff for future funds and...."
Adel glanced downward.
"Grab the 【Platinum Ring】 from the last warehouse, and we're done."
The Platinum Ring...? You don't mean... the pure-blood high god Nephrem.
"That's right."
What a joke. Why would a relic of a pure-blood god be in the lair of Jipla the corruption god's contractor?
Kalderet tilted his head, genuinely baffled by Adel's words.
Those two gods are polar opposites. Put them together, and they'd just clash.
"Hm. Even you gods can't spot it, huh? Well, Ralka had a special power even before tapping into Jipla's divine strength. She's a master at hiding herself."
...What?
Adel smirked at his question.
"Queen Spider Ralka? She was originally the saintess of the Nell Church, devoted to Nephrem."
...What?!
Kalderet cried out in true shock.
A Nephrem contractor who double-dipped with Jipla? Unbelievable....
"Everyone thinks so. That's why the saintess seat in Nell is vacant now—the church's prestige has taken a hit."
Believers switching gods happens sometimes... but ditching a high god? Rare as hell.
"Well, she chose truth over lies. From your perspective, that's gotta be satisfying, right? Even sealed away, you've got followers."
Hmph. She saw the truth. It's a matter of caliber. Nothing like those petty high gods.
Oh my. Then a mid god like me shouldn't even speak.
Whoosh—!!
Garon's fireball materialized before Adel, its flickering flames illuminating the dark warehouse.
Kekeke....
Kalderet chuckled at Garon's remark.
"If she'd found the sealed temple, she might've become your contractor instead of one of the corruption gods."
Hmm... Well, as a former saintess, she must've had exceptional talent for taking in divine power. Contracting with a pure-blood god like Nephrem proves her blood was pristine.
"Right. Honestly, if she'd fully unleashed Jipla's power, even I wouldn't have beaten her easily."
Adel nodded in agreement.
But she never could've undone my seal. Look at all these hoarded treasures. Greed can't fill a void. Only you made it possible.
He smirked at Kalderet's response.
"Yeah? I'll take that as praise."
High praise. You've earned a god's recognition. A unique one, at that.
Kalderet strode boldly toward the warehouse depths.
Indeed... Nephrem's relic, the Platinum Ring, should purge Jipla's divine poison handily.
As he'd said, pure-blood gods only contracted those with special bloodlines called divine veins. These innate bloodlines were primed to accept divine power—and excelled even more at neutralizing divine poison.
"That's why her demon eyes progressed so fast, but that same blood can erase them too."
Then why hasn't she used the ring?
"Not won't—can't. Contracting with Jipla naturally cost her Nephrem's power."
Hmm... So no quick fix for her demon eyes right now.
"Nope. Not immediately, anyway."
Chatting as they went, Adel rummaged through the underground warehouse and pulled an old box from a cabinet.
"Here it is."
The cabinet held only this plain wooden box, devoid of any ornamentation—something no one would notice.
"Humans can contract only one god at a time. Having betrayed Nephrem, she can't wield the saintess's power again."
So how do you plan to heal her?
"Simple. Make a new saintess."
Hmm... You thinking of taking that ring back to her old church? I wouldn't call it a great plan. It'd just tip off her whereabouts.
Adel drew the ring from the box. A simple silver band, elegantly unadorned.
"Exactly. Even if I hand them this ring, Nell's top brass won't have the bandwidth to scout saintess candidates."
Adel recalled his past life. The ring had eventually returned to the church then too. Yet no Nephrem contractor ever emerged after Ralka.
'Meaning no pure-blood high god contractor after Ralka.'
"Nell Church is probably down to mid gods like Nell at best now. Whoever steps up, they'll be desperate for a saintess."
Adel's eyes gleamed.
"I'm going to use this ring to make Nell Church mine."
...What? You can't mean—
Kalderet stared at him, dumbfounded.
"A church without a guardian god? Nell's leaders are panicking since Ralka vanished—fire at their feet."
You planning to become the saintess?
"...Don't make lame jokes."
Adel shook his head at the quip.
Hmm. Doubtful they'd accept someone contracted to me. Nephrem's a picky god. Won't contract easily.
"Probably. I'm not banking on contracting him myself."
It had been impossible in his past life too. The pure-blood high god was aloof and prideful. Even hunted to near-death, he'd chosen oblivion over yielding to a contract.
'No contractors after Ralka wasn't for lack of candidates. The god himself refused humans.'
A god who no longer trusted humanity.
"Even without a saintess, the relic's return alone means a lot. In this mess, the church will fixate on the ring itself over any contractor."
And you're taking that prize for yourself.
"Right. They'll have no choice but to heed me."
Trading the ring they can't even use to swallow the church whole. Ruthless.
"Ruthless? Call it airtight."
Heh heh....
"This Ruinxen trip is a golden opportunity. Lets me leave the desert in plain sight."
Adel pocketed the ring from the box and gazed at it.
"I'm not settling for just the desert."
Of course. Becoming king of some petty territory? I wouldn't have let you turn back time for that.
"With that in mind, I'll claim these two. Ruinxen and Nell Church—perfect stepping stones."
Hmm. Solid.
He tucked the ring away.
"Stepping stones to the center. And... right about now, that loach should be wriggling into motion."
The loach...?
"Found him?"
"Not yet. But we've confirmed he's passing through Ruinxen toward the duchy."
Splat—!!!
Ghouls burst from the floor below, clamping down on Black Spider's arms with all their might.
"Gah, graaaah!!"
Black Spider screamed hoarsely and collapsed to the floor.
Ralka stared down at him coldly.
"If you've confirmed it, why not drag him here? You toying with me right now?"
"I... ordered the dagger port pirates to take the river up to the duchy. Their ships will cut the time way down compared to land. We'll catch Mahal before he hits the border."
"And the land route?"
"Sent extra trackers from Mist Alley as backup. We'll have him in custody within two days, guaranteed."
Splat—!!
Ralka lashed out irritably, kicking Black Spider in the gut.
"One day. Get that bastard Mahal in front of me by tomorrow, no matter what. Fail, and I'll sew that useless trap of yours shut."
"...Y-yes, understood."
Black Spider clutched his throbbing belly and rasped.
Damn it... Who could've guessed the kid was really Kalderet's contractor? A 14-year-old drops an ancient god's name—how was I supposed to buy that straight?
It burned with injustice.
"Scram."
No telling when her rage at him might cool. He might be stuck suffering under her forever.
This can't go on. This shitheap of a city... I'll ditch it first. Burn it all down. Once word spreads that Kalderet's seal is broken, the continent's churches will mobilize to snag his contractor.
Black Spider ground his teeth.
"Then Ruinxen's done for. Why should I chase him? Getting treated like this by some random outsider... Just you wait."
He muttered under his breath in the empty corridor before hurrying off.
Sssshhh....
That was when it happened.
After he vanished, a black silhouette emerged in the corridor like drifting smoke.
That was our loach. Little slippery bastard.
Kalderet spoke to Adel from the shadows.