Something That Feels Good
Driving the carriage, Bella clenched her teeth.
I can't win this...
The number of monsters she could sense here was enough to make even a battlefield veteran click her tongue in dismay. Lower- and mid-tier monsters swarmed in droves, and she could even feel the presence of upper-tier ones among them.
To break through the power of the Saintstone, they must have pushed themselves hard. And yet they had invaded this place all the same.
For what, exactly?
There was nothing around here but an ordinary village and Bastille Prison.
To free the Cultists of Contamination locked inside the prison? That couldn't be it. Monsters and cultists only used each other out of necessity — they were no true alliance. And there was no figure in Bastille Prison important enough to justify sacrificing a force of this scale.
Suddenly she thought of the village where she had stayed until just a few hours ago.
It was a pity, but... if she went alone to save them, she would only add one more corpse to the pile.
"There are too many of them! We need to get out of here and head for a major city!"
Bella shouted without so much as glancing back.
"....."
In that instant, the air changed with Yeon's murmur.
A nauseating stench that twisted the gut. A crushing pressure that weighed on the chest. An ominous aura crawling over the skin.
Bella spun around on pure reflex.
Yeon Bennet.
A dark crimson crack had appeared above her head.
What is that?
A memory flashed through her mind — the sacred halo that rose above a Saintess whenever she unleashed her authority on the battlefield. But unlike that holy light, the thing floating over Yeon Bennet's head reeked of contamination so foul it was hard to breathe.
And black spots — the very symbol of the Cultists of Contamination — began blooming across her body. Like black veins spreading outward, her entire form was being covered in traces of corruption.
It was unmistakable proof.
A Cultist of Contamination...?
Goosebumps rose over her whole body. The images of Yeon Bennet she had seen until now flashed through her mind — the way she had mourned the dead, the way she had taken no revenge on the commoners who pointed fingers at her. All of it...
Had been a lie.
Despicably, she was exactly what the world said she was — a parasite on humanity, an apostle of contamination.
"You...!!! That form...!!!!"
Contamination.
The worst curse ever to blanket this land. And any being that accepted it could no longer be called human.
Shing.
Bella quietly drew her sword. When she leveled the tip at Yeon, the other girl slowly looked back at her.
"Go on. Make an excuse. I'll listen."
But no answer came.
"Say something, damn it!!!"
At that moment—
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud.
The sound of countless footsteps. Thousands of monsters began charging straight at them.
Is she... controlling the monsters?
Bella realized it on pure instinct. This vast horde was being drawn by Yeon Bennet's power. There was no room left for excuses. She was summoning them.
"Did you... call them here?"
Bella gritted her teeth as she stared at the dark crimson halo above Yeon's head.
"I was a fool for trusting you even for a moment."
They were already surrounded. There was no chance of surviving this place.
So this is it... In that case.
Bella closed her eyes coldly. She was a knight. Even if she died a miserable, anonymous death here, she could not leave an enemy of humanity alive. If she didn't kill her, more people would die. That was her duty as a knight.
And so—
Thud!
Bella's blade drove straight through her heart.
Yeon's body jerked. Then she slowly drew a breath—
"..."
And simply smiled, faintly.
A smile...?
She made no attempt to dodge or block. As if she were a sinner accepting her execution.
Bella felt a momentary sense of wrongness, but quickly recovered. When she pulled the sword free, blood spurted and Yeon's body slowly crumpled to the ground.
Bella felt something was wrong. But it was already too late to take it back.
...It's over.
She was dead.
But...
Bella raised her head. The endless tide of monsters. All that remained now was her own death.
She raised her sword again. She had no intention of dying easily. She meant to cut down as many as she could before the end.
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
The claws and fangs of the monsters in her vision grew larger and larger.
Bella gripped her sword even tighter, bracing for the attack.
Thud!
In that instant, before Bella could even react, something lunged at her.
Crunch.
With a sharp sound of flesh being torn open—
Kyaaaaaah—!
Thousands of monsters. That vast army—
Was being torn to shreds.
What... on earth...
It was exactly the same as that day two months ago. The same miracle that had saved her life.
I was sure I felt her breath stop...
Bella looked with a complicated expression at Yeon, who had wrapped her arms around her and taken the monsters' attacks in her place.
Every time the carriage jolted, the scenery beyond the window warped and twisted.
Thanks to the Evil God's authority, I could sense the presence of monsters more easily than anyone. Their auras pressed in from every direction — thousands of them, maybe more. The sheer mass of creatures hunting me down sent a chill down my spine.
How the hell did they even know to come here?
Someone had clearly leaked the information. There was only one reason to drag a force this enormous all the way out here.
To reclaim the seal of the Evil God.
It's because of me. Again.
The village where I had stayed until just a few hours ago. I was terrified for the people inside it — terrified that the monsters tracking me would hurt them. Terrified that someone else would die because of me.
But still.
Unlike when I first arrived in this world, I had power now. Power enough to protect people.
I quietly looked at Bella.
Can I trust her? No — will she trust me?
"There are too many of them! We need to get out of here and head for a major city!"
Bella shouted with a flicker of fear in her expression, then immediately whipped the horses into a gallop.
She was right. Running from a horde of this size was the rational choice. If anything happened to me, everything Duke Bennet and I had planned would fall apart. Measured against the whole of humanity, the people of that village were a handful of dust. Charging out to save a number that small would be pure insanity.
But.
But...
Annie, who had stood in front of the monsters just to buy me three seconds. Who had taken the attack meant for me. That life of hers must have been more precious than anything — so what on earth had she been thinking when she threw herself over me and fell?
Yeon... no, I was astonishingly talentless.
Magic? I couldn't understand it at all. The only thing I had managed to learn was a single simple spell the Headmistress had forcibly engraved into my head.
Martial arts? For some reason I couldn't acquire them either — not even the basic techniques anyone off the street could pick up if they tried.
In the end, the only path left to me was training my unique ability, Masochist, and raising its level. Fortunately, I had the Headmistress's help. With free regeneration no matter how badly I was hurt, I threw myself into training like a madwoman — and in a little over a year, I had managed to reach Level 5.
The mid- and lower-tier monsters I could handle the same way I had two months ago. The problem was the upper-tier ones. At Level 5, even with my authority active, killing them would be difficult. I could sense seven of them.
Seven. It'll be a stretch, but I have to try.
The real problem was...
I glanced at Bella, who was driving the carriage in a frenzy.
Will she play along the way I need her to?
"Ether, activate."
Unique Ability Ether (Malice) has been activated.
A powerful relic of the Mythic Age, also known as the Stone of Faith. Currently engraved upon the soul of its owner, Yeon Bennet.
* In the Holy Kingdom, it is called a sacred relic and regarded as the mark of a Saintess.
Effect: The owner may attain the qualifications of a god through faith.
Current Faith Held:Malice
A Mythic Age relic that allowed a mere human — Yeon Bennet — to seal the Evil God's authority.
With a fierce stench, a dark crimson cracked halo rose above my head, and black spots began spreading over my entire body.
"You...!!!"
Bella's expression went ice-cold. She quietly drew her sword.
Hehe... That's it!
Having someone else do it always hurt more — and felt better — than doing it myself. Bigger pleasure? Stronger buffs. I was still too weak to use the Evil God's authority without any preparation, so I had no choice but to take the hit.
Really, no choice at all... Heh heh...
In Bella's eyes, I was nothing more than a Cultist of Contamination now.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
The thunder of countless footsteps. Thousands of monsters were charging straight at us.
Hngh... Hurry... I wish she'd hurry up...
Just thinking about being run through by her sword made my whole body tremble with anticipation. A rising heat climbed through me, and a moan threatened to spill out no matter how hard I tried to swallow it.
"Go on. Make an excuse. I'll listen."
Huh?
"Say something, damn it!!!"
Even looking like this, she still wanted to hear me out?
You're soft, Senior.
Making someone that kind do something this terrible pricked my conscience just a little.
Bella steeled herself. Strength gathered in her hand, and the tip of her blade aimed at my heart. I closed my eyes quietly, waiting for the pain to come.
Thud!
Ah.
At first it was cold. The moment the blade split my skin, tore through flesh, and reached my heart, it transformed into a fire that raced through my entire body. My heart seemed to skip a beat under the sudden shock, and my lungs seized up, forcing out only shallow, ragged breaths.
And then—
Pleasure so intense it felt like my brain would burn out.
A thrilling sensation spreading from near my heart outward. Like a drug — no, something deeper and more addictive than that. My whole body felt like it was on fire. Every nerve went hypersensitive, and even the blood flowing from my heart felt warm and pleasant, like some intoxicating liquid.
Hngh... Haah...!
I bit down on my lip. I was better than anyone at stifling those sounds. I didn't want anyone finding out about this humiliating unique ability.
She didn't notice, right?
This... feels so good...!! Hngh...!
I still hadn't experienced a climax as a woman, but I was certain of one thing. Nothing could feel better than this.
I could feel my thoughts gradually shutting down. Through a darkening field of vision, the ground began to draw closer.
Thud.
...
...
...
Flash!
"Pwah—!"
Aegis Magic System — Decaimal Reverse Activated
Caster:Dorothy Lightsheld
Lives Remaining:9
...Haaah.
I drew a deep breath.
No matter how many times I see it, this magic is broken.
A spell that generates spare lives. Of course, knowing who cast it, it wasn't that surprising.
The Transcendent Dorothy Lightsheld. Headmistress of the Academy, and...
My master.
Maybe it was because I had just tasted the ultimate pleasure through death. A power far beyond anything that came from losing an arm or two was roaring through my entire body.
With this much power...
I forced my pleasure-slackened legs to hold me and stood up — just in time to see countless monsters charging at Bella.
Ah.
A little late?
...
Even better! Hehe...
Rising from the threshold of death, I—
Threw my arms around Bella and held her close.
Feeling the claws and fangs dig into me... I gave an order to the Malice raging inside my body.
"Just die!!!"