Chapter 8
The saintess cried out. The saintess hated the goddess. Who was the goddess worshipped by the Church of the Goddess? Her power was omnipotent beyond human comprehension, and with her benevolent nature, she watched over all people. But it was all, all hypocrisy.
If the goddess were truly such a being, why had she just watched as monsters ravaged this village? Why had she stood by as people starved, trapped in the chains of poverty? Why had she allowed the heretics' atrocities to continue? Why had she let innocent people be slaughtered by bandits? Why had she heartlessly trampled the prayers of a desperate young girl? And why, oh why...!
Why had she granted power to a girl who hated God? Why had she forced her to live shackled by it? That was why it was hypocrisy. That was why she hated her. And that led to destruction. If she couldn't kill God, then destroying the world God loved was the only option. And it was also the path to salvation for those abandoned by the goddess. Better to die than live a lifetime in agony.
That was why the saintess had spoken to Franz. She sensed that someone who took lives without hesitation might understand her intent. Unlike her expectations, Franz naturally didn't understand at all.
Whoa, this is seriously fucked.
Sirens were blaring in Franz's head. At this rate, not only the world but his own life was in jeopardy. He wanted to believe the saintess was just speaking in anger, but the guy who appeared before him made that impossible.
You are on the verge of a BAD ENDING!
Your choices greatly impact the fate of the world!
Bad ending. In other words, the world's destruction. It was so kind of it to politely inform him, 'You're about to die, buddy.' Thanks to that, his mind snapped back to reality. She might've looked like her mental state was shot, but he hadn't realized it was this serious.
Still, it's not the worst.
They say even if the sky falls, there's a way out. Being on the verge of a bad ending was definitely bad, but the follow-up implied there was still a chance. So if he didn't give up and worked hard, he could get past this turning point somehow. Even if the saintess wouldn't recover in one go.
That was fine. Once the mind calmed, rational thinking would follow. Franz took a deep breath to steady his racing heart. Then he said softly,
"Why? What's got you like this?"
Franz decided to hear the saintess out first. Just having someone listen could lighten the load during tough times. And to prevent her fall afterward, he needed to hear her story.
First, I gotta know what it is to help.
It might turn out to be some utterly ridiculous reason. But Franz would think about that later. Fortunately, the saintess played right into his plan.
"To convince you...? Fine. I'll tell you everything."
The saintess didn't relish revealing her past, but to gain Franz's cooperation, she could endure it. With that overwhelming 10th-circle magic she'd witnessed, leading the world to ruin would be a piece of cake for him.
"When I was little..."
And so her long tale began, slowly unfolding. From the girl Justia to the god-hating saintess. She poured out everything she'd kept bottled up. It was the first time she'd shared her past with anyone. They were memories she didn't want to revisit, and she'd had no one to tell anyway. So it was natural that her unspoken hatred, fueled by the kindling of her repressed life as a saintess, blazed fiercely.
But now that Franz had listened. The flames in her heart dimmed, just a little, faintly.
Franz, who had silently heard her out to the end, quietly pressed his forehead.
What kind of life is this...?
Being born poor was common enough, but witnessing bandits rape and murder her parents firsthand? That was too shocking. No need to spell out how much trauma that little girl must have suffered. And he could somewhat understand her hatred for God. In this world, gods existed for real, and religion was deeply woven into people's lives. Even when things went well, they'd credit the gods for it. So while blaming the goddess for her parents' death wasn't entirely right, it wasn't inexplicable. Especially if she saw it all as trials sent by the goddess.
Franz just felt sorry for her. She'd gone astray because of that harsh childhood.
But even so, he couldn't help her destroy the world. Everyone fantasized about the world's end at some point, especially after hardship. But thinking it inwardly and acting on it were worlds apart.
So what now? Nothing special. Franz said softly,
"If it's that tough, why not quit being a saintess?"
"Quit... being a saintess?"
"Yeah. Why keep working under a goddess you hate so much? If you hate the temple, the monk leaves. If you hate it and it's annoying, just quit."
Surprisingly, this came from Franz's own experience. The story of a black-haired Korean guy fed up with daily abuse from his boss who quit and found happiness.
The saintess was just bewildered by Franz's blunt words. Quitting as saintess? She'd never even considered it.
"Man, even after over 20 years, it still pisses me off thinking about it. That Kim Jung-hoon guy, balding as fuck with a pig belly sticking out..."
That was when it hit him. Some people relieve stress by singing or yelling, right? They were on a hilltop—perfect for shouting it out.
"Hey, let's curse her out good while we're here. 'You fucking bitch goddess—' How's that?"
A barrage of question marks flooded the saintess's mind. Even street thugs wouldn't curse the goddess in front of a saintess, yet the Magic Tower Master was doing it. Weird. They said obsession with magic drives people mad—guess even the tower master couldn't escape it.
Still. It wasn't a bad idea.
Focus returned to the saintess's hazy eyes. Seeing that, Franz sighed inwardly in relief. He'd switched topics fearing she'd keep harping on destruction, and it worked.
Do this twice more and I'll pass out.
Franz snapped his fingers with a click. A transparent hemisphere formed around him and the saintess—like a common barrier. It blocked sound inside from outside.
No way was he letting the holy knights hear goddess-bashing.
"Alright, stand up first."
As Franz rose, the saintess followed.
"Sound's blocked from outside."
"Oh... so it won't reach the heavens...?"
Disappointment flickered in her eyes. She wanted to hurl curses directly at the goddess, not just vent alone. Franz, reading her intent, snapped again. He couldn't let her revert to destruction mode after blocking it once.
The hemisphere around them vanished, replaced by ones over the nearby holy knights and the village below the hill. It guzzled mana due to the massive range, but preventing her villainess turn made it worthwhile.
"There, now it's good."
Suuuuck—As Franz gave the signal, the saintess drew a deep breath. Then she bellowed at full volume.
"You fucking bitch goddess—!!"
Her clear, beautiful voice echoed across the world. Her hatred didn't vanish, but she felt strangely refreshed.
Fortunately, no alert appeared after her one curse. He'd safely passed the first bad ending branch point. Franz couldn't help but be thrilled. Though her parting words nagged a bit.
"My offer still stands. I'll be waiting for your answer."
Still fine. She wasn't planning world-ending blackening right now. Plus.
Her percentage jumped a whopping 10% in one go. Saving the world from doom and boosting progress? Talk about having his cake and eating it too—draining the ditch and catching crayfish on top. In high spirits, Franz returned to the Magic Tower with light steps. Completely forgetting he'd ditched work.
And in the tower master's office, he ran into Arian.
"Master...? You're finally back...?"
Arian's angry glare looked ready to end the world itself.