2
Chapter 2
The question of why the Saint, known as the most virtuous woman, ended up in the worst prison didn't last long. The Continent is currently under the Demon King's heel, after all. As the greatest enemy of the Demon Army, the Saint would naturally have become a high traitor.
When Kelth mentioned having the 'same execution date' as me, it must mean she also has about a week left to live.
"Hey... Saint."
"Please, speak."
The Saint's voice was calm, almost detached. Was she not afraid of me? Well, she faced off against the Demon King; there's no way she'd fear some random prisoner of unknown origin.
Still, if possible, I wanted to maintain some dignity as her senior. But the only thing I could say in my current state was...
"Pick up that bread for me."
"......."
"Just walk seven steps to the right. The jailer threw it around there earlier."
That was all.
It couldn't be helped. Senior or not, right now I'm just a half-cripple who can't even move a limb.
After receiving my request, the Saint looked slightly surprised, then moved without a moment's hesitation. Right, one, two, three, four... how far is she going?
Unlike her detached voice, the Saint's gait was incredibly clumsy. It was as if she were a patient suffering from some illness.
It didn't take long to guess why. The Saint was the final hero of the Continent's side, and in the end, the Demon Army won the war. There's no way a key figure of a defeated nation would be physically intact.
"Setting aside the fact that you can't see, it looks like your balance is off too."
"Please wait a moment. I will find it shortly."
"Both, then. Tsk tsk, how did the great Saint end up like this?"
Even though I spoke mockingly, the Saint didn't seem offended. She wore only an expressionless face, devoid of any hostility.
I had no way of knowing if that blankness was genuine or a mask to hide her emotions.
"It is because my love was insufficient."
Having said that, the Saint fumbled across the stone floor. After a moment, her emotional voice reached my ears.
The first emotion she revealed was...
"The bread you are looking for seems to have turned to ash."
It was regret.
...Why?
Why is she feeling regret over the fact that my bread turned into a handful of ash?
Did she say she'd get it, but actually intended to eat it herself? It's possible. Since I can't do anything even if she steals my food.
I realized my suspicion was meaningless when the Saint approached me.
"...What are you doing?"
"I came because I heard a sound, so I am not sure if I have found the right person. Are you the one in front of me? If so, please answer."
"I am... but what are you trying to do?"
The Saint leaned over. Her once-neat black nun's habit draped down softly. Though the habit was now filthy and torn in several places.
Without a word, the Saint took bread from her bosom and placed it in my mouth. It was a high-quality bread, far different from the usual meal service. It even had sweet cream inside the soft bread.
"Sir Kelth gave this to me. It should taste decent."
I didn't even have time to wonder. The high-grade food, returning to my mouth after so long, overwhelmed my senses. Ignoring my brain's will, my tongue and teeth devoured the bread greedily.
"How is it? Does it suit your taste?"
The Saint asked subtly.
A smile played on her lips. It wasn't a grand smile, but a simple and infinitely pure one.
It was also a smile whose intent was unknown. As a villain, I do not believe in purity. In a world where everyone wears a mask, such things are only found in fairy tales.
"It's good. But why are you smiling, Saint?"
"How could I not be happy when I can still give to others even after being dragged to a place like this?"
"Ha, what's so happy about that?"
"Love is something that swells like cotton candy. What I have given you is a form of love; surely this bleak space called Tartarus will soon be filled with love."
"You certainly have a knack for talking about fantasies, Saint."
She is an impossible woman. Furthermore, one I have no need to understand.
I came to that conclusion only five minutes after being in the same room as the Saint.
Whether she noticed my thoughts or not, the Saint sat down beside me with a soft smile.
"And what of your own identity?"
"It's not like you're paying me. Why are you so curious?"
I don't know why, but I simply don't like her. A sense of repulsion wells up from deep within me.
That incomprehensible smile, the love and charity she speaks of.
They are all things I've never encountered in my life. Perhaps that's why. Demons instinctively reject the unfamiliar.
That is why I respond to the Saint with such sarcasm.
"Are you not proud of your own name?"
"...I can't deny that. Honestly, if I told you who I was, I feel like you'd kill me."
"What gruesome words. I do not take the lives of others for such reasons."
"We'll see about that."
I denied it with my words, but I found myself nodding in agreement.
It was because a memory surfaced unconsciously. Even during the war between the Demon Army and the Continental Alliance, the Saint never once committed an unnecessary killing with her own hands.
I recalled hearing a rumor that she had even treated the captured Western Duke of the Demon Realm before sending her back.
...But didn't Kelth say a few hours ago that the Saint was defeated by the Demon Dukes, excluding me? Then did that demon, the Western Duke, take bloody revenge on the woman who showed her mercy?
Truly a shameless demon. I like her. She's a perfect specimen of a demon.
"And why was the noble Saint dragged here?"
"I committed a sin."
"Only the worst criminals come here. You're saying you committed a sin of that magnitude?"
"They called it the crime of disrespect."
"Puhaha! A Saint who serves God, charged with blasphemy! That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"
"Since it is blasphemy against the Demon God, it is not entirely incorrect if you think about it."
"Your mindset is incredibly positive."
The Saint was wearing a broad smile, as if something had made her truly happy. She had been expressionless when I first saw her.
"By the way, why don't you cut back on the smiling? Not that I care."
"They say that if you smile, blessings will come."
"You're smiling because you want blessings? But you weren't smiling until a moment ago."
"That's because... the current situation itself can be considered a great blessing. That is how I feel."
I wonder why her voice, though cracked and faded, was so full of bright hope.
Truly, from her toes to the top of her head, the Saint is a human made entirely of things I cannot comprehend.
"How is being trapped in the Inferno a blessing?"
"I would have been lonely if I were trapped alone, but I have you by my side."
"We just met today. Besides, I wasn't exactly on good terms with you."
"It is fine. Once we enter Tartarus, we are all equal prisoners. What is the point of bringing grudges from the outside?"
There wasn't a hint of pretense in the Saint's words. Could a human's genuine heart be this positive?
At least, I've never seen anyone like her among the humans I've killed.
"I cannot describe how happy I am just to sit beside you and talk like this."
"Well, I can agree with that. It's too boring when you're alone."
"Indeed. But for what reason were you imprisoned here?"
"Why do you want to know? You've been way too interested since earlier."
"Because with my humble skills, I might be able to lighten the burden of your sins."
The Saint chattered away, sitting primly beside me. Her knees were touching the scorching stone floor.
I never asked for help, and I have no sins to lighten—why does she want to do that? She is truly an incomprehensible woman.
"Who asked you to?"
"Bestowing grace is the duty of an apostle of God."
"......."
What a foolish human.
The very reason she was dragged here was because of the grace she showed to the Western Duke. Does she not know that? Or is she stubbornly clinging to it even if she does?
Either way, I'd call her hopeless. If it's the former, she's just stupid, and if it's the latter, she's incredibly stubborn.
"So please, feel free to speak. There is a reason humans go to cathedrals for confession."
"This isn't a cathedral. If anything, it's closer to hell."
"If the heart is sincere, is that place not a cathedral in itself?"
"The Saint certainly loves speaking in riddles."
"How long do you intend to avoid the question?"
The Saint lifted her head toward me. Though her eyes were covered by bandages, I felt as if my inner self was being pierced through.
"Avoid what?"
For a moment, I flinched. That's why I answered evasively.
Looking at her expression, it seemed I'd made a bad move. A terrible mistake.
"Are you afraid to face your own sins?"
"What creature isn't afraid of that? Even a demon."
"So you were a demon?"
"You didn't know? I guess your senses are as broken as your eyes. Who did that to you? The Demon King? The Demon God? The Western Duke of the Demon Realm?"
"You're trying to change the subject again."
If I just let this slide, she'll likely keep bothering me.
Talking to the Saint is the only entertainment in Tartarus, so it's not that I dislike it, but I still don't want to deal with the annoyance.
"Sigh, fine. Since you're asking so earnestly, I'll tell you. The sin I committed was......."
The moment I tried to continue, a terrible pain struck my throat.
Throb-!
Clatter-!
It was because I had spoken too much since meeting the Saint. Moreover, the pain of the seizures, which I had been enduring to keep the conversation going, seized me in the gap.
"Cough! Ack, cough, cough...!"
Violent breaths and harsh coughs erupted simultaneously. It felt horrific, as if the coughs were being ripped straight from my guts.
My whole body jolted. The pain of my limbs being torn apart flared up once again.
I wondered if I'd never be able to speak again, or how I'd endure the remaining week since the Saint couldn't even see my face.
What a ridiculous worry. It's not like talking to the Saint is essential. Besides, isn't my empty fate simply to wait for my head to be cut off in a week?
Right then, the Saint leaned over toward me.
She hurriedly opened my chest and placed her hand over it. I felt a small but rough hand against my bare skin. It was a hand that had crossed countless battlefields. Yet, it possessed the contradiction of being warm and cozy.
What is she trying to do?
"I pray to the good, merciful, holy, and noble Lord."
The Saint's voice dropped. Though only her voice had changed, her aura shifted completely in an instant.
"Please show mercy to this pitiful and miserable lamb. With Your overflowing compassion, please heal this lamb. Let a clear song flow once more from this throat that has served its purpose......."
Whenever the Saint spoke, a white light aura began to emanate from her palm. It was the divine power unique to priests, shining with an incomparable brilliance.
...Divine power?
Divine power is the exact opposite of everything I am.
"Wa- Wait...!"
Swoosh-.
Is this woman insane! She's trying to pour divine power into me, a demon, under the guise of healing me!
Injecting divine power into a demon is even more dangerous than pumping dark magic into a Holy Knight; it's an idea that could only come from someone determined to kill me.
"I... I'm a demon... cough! cough!"
Even though she must have heard that I was a demon, the Saint did not stop infusing holy power into me.
Had she forgotten already? No, that couldn't be it. She was clearly trying to humiliate me.
It was a foul trick, the kind of thing a witch would do—giving me a taste of kindness to let my guard down before extinguishing all hope in an instant.
Damn it, I'm an idiot for feeling relieved and letting my guard down for someone like her.
"Though this lamb was raised in a wicked environment, all living beings are Your children. I pray to the Lord who protects, refines, and loves us, that You embrace this little lamb with a generous heart......."
Hummm-.
It was over. Her holy power was already seeping into my chest. Since I had no way to reject the holy power flowing into me, I was doomed to die.
Ah, to think I'd face such a futile end! I wanted to be executed with style at the guillotine in the Empire's Square in a week!
What a damn woman. This sort of Saint is the worst.
"...A humble servant prays earnestly."
Flash-!
"......."
Clatter-.
And yet.
Why was I hearing the sound of a seizure even though I was dead?
I'd never heard any rumors about being able to hear sounds after death.
"You."
Where did the pain in my throat go?
I believed it was a curse that would never leave me for the remaining week.
"Are you... feeling better?"
Why is this woman giving me such a pure smile?
Seeing as her smile is directed at the space beside me, she's definitely blind, but what could possibly make her so happy that she's smiling like that?
I've never seen a smile like that. Even when I avenged my Noonim—the happiest moment of my life—I couldn't manage such a pure smile.
If I recall, I was half-insane and weeping back then.
Does she truly believe that smiling brings blessings? If so, she's a truly foolish woman.
A foolish, yet innocent and pure woman.
"Will you tell me now?"
She is a truly naive, absent-minded, stubborn, and stupid woman.
Otherwise, how could she burn through the last of her holy power for me, knowing full well that I am a demon and her enemy?
She's a pushover. Perfect for someone to take advantage of. I seriously doubt anyone who calls a woman like her 'wise' has human eyes.
"The sins you've committed. I will listen to them with you."
"......."
No. A skin-crawling repulsion washes over me. I'm shivering from the chill.
The dullness, the stupidity, the stubbornness, the foolishness.
The purity, the innocence, the positivity, the nobility.
I hate it all. As a demon, I simply cannot understand her. Nor do I want to.
"...Before that, let me ask one thing."
By the way, what exactly did the Saint do? What trick did she use to heal my vocal cords so perfectly?
"Changing the subject again... *Sigh*, please speak freely."
"Demons are the embodiment of sin. I've never heard of holy power that could heal even a demon."
"Hehe, that's understandable. This power is very special, and the most noble thing in the world."
"Then what exactly is this power?"
To my questioning, the Saint responded with a pure smile. A word I couldn't possibly empathize with flowed from her cracked lips.
"It is love."