Chapter 151
"From the start... this doesn't make sense. How did you even find where I was?"
Girael licked his lips with a nervous sweat breaking out.
At this point, there was no longer an option not to fight Reina.
He would have avoided it if possible... but if it couldn't be avoided, then he had no choice but to kill.
"I'm a cautious guy, you know. In order to carry out this request... I gathered a bunch of items with some serious backstories."
Girael pulled a knife from his coat.
The knife radiated a sinister aura, as if it had been forged from the nightmares of humans.
"For example... this knife. It once belonged to a serial killer known as the 'Virgin Slayer.' This knife, which tore apart and murdered countless innocent maidens, is soaked with the grudges of its victims. Just holding it makes you tremble... but for a holy being like you, it should be especially effective, right?"
"............"
Reina did not respond to Girael's words.
With her clear jade-colored eyes, she stared straight at Girael.
"I've got tons of cursed items. There's no way someone like you, the Holy Spirits, or even so-called angels should be able to find me. I'm armed with curses, so even the gods have forsaken me. And yet... how did you find me?"
"You're long-winded."
Reina finally opened her mouth and spoke sharply.
"Your last words are too long. If you're going to kill yourself, hurry up and do it."
Cold words.
Lines that could hardly be believed to come from a merciful and gentle Saint.
It was truly the 'Wrath of God.'
Girael had already incurred her sacred wrath, and to earn forgiveness, he had no choice but to kill himself as ordered.
"If you want a souvenir for the afterlife, I can tell you this... This is a pilgrimage site. A sacred land. It's precisely because it's filled with divine energy that a wicked being like you stands out so much."
"Ah... I see. I screwed up. Bringing cursed weapons was a bad move."
"Did you get the answers you wanted? Good for you. Now then, hurry up and..."
"Now I can kill you without mercy!"
Cutting off Reina's words, Girael shouted.
In the next moment... the ground at Reina's feet exploded, and black chains emerged.
Like the knife, the chains emitted a chillingly evil aura just by being seen.
"Bind her! 'Saint Breaker'!"
It was a restraint device once created by a fallen Priest.
The Priest, who had developed twisted desires for a certain Saint, strayed from the path and turned to curses.
By imprisoning devout believers in a basement and torturing them, then smearing their blood on it, he created a cursed item that could capture a Saint.
That was the 'Saint Breaker.'
An evil chain that dragged down holy beings blessed with divine protection and defiled them.
"!"
The chains coiled around Reina's body.
The chains dug into her soft skin beneath the white vestments, accentuating her curves.
The 'Saint Breaker' was a tool to capture Saints. It nullified the sacred power held by Saints.
"Hyahhahahahahahahahahahahaha! Dieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
Girael screamed as he kicked off the ground, knife in hand.
Clael never realized it, but in truth, Girael was one of the enemy characters who appeared in the game.
His real name wasn't 'Girael,' but something like 'Apostle of the Cursed Evil God,' so no one noticed... but he was a mid-game boss character.
The 'Apostle of the Cursed Evil God' would bind Reina with those chains, kidnap her, and then confront Eric and the other playable characters.
"Hyahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
Eyes bloodshot, Girael closed in on Reina.
The knife, designed to counter holy beings, plunged toward Reina's chest...
"Huh...?"
...or it would have, but in the next instant, it shattered into pieces.
"Truly, what a foolish person you are."
Reina muttered in exasperation.
Like a heavenly Saint looking down on a lost soul who failed to grasp the spider's thread.
"Did you really think something like that could bind me...? There truly are people unworthy of mercy."
The chains immediately crumbled apart.
Reina brushed the fragments off her body with a look of annoyance.
"No way... Impossible!"
Girael jumped back to put distance between them, eyes wide in disbelief.
He thought he had killed her. He thought he had won... and yet, there wasn't a single scratch on Reina.
"Don't mess with me! That was a knife meant to kill Saints! Chains meant to defile a Saint! This isn't how it's supposed to go!"
Girael shouted in frustration at the absurdity... but it was the natural result.
Cursed items can nullify holy power.
But... think about it.
Water extinguishes fire, but can a cup of water put out a forest fire?
Fire melts ice, but can a single match melt a glacier?
The answer is 'No.'
Curses counter the power of a Saint... but it's only a matter of compatibility.
"It simply wasn't a curse strong enough to nullify my power... that's all there is to it."
"Screw this! I can't take this anymoreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
Girael turned his back and ran.
Indeed... Girael's instinct had not been wrong. He should never have fought Saint Reina.
(If I knew it would end like this... I never should've messed with Clael!)
That was Girael's mistake.
If he had realized how dangerous Reina was, he should have fled without looking back.
He never should have tried to avoid Reina and go after Clael instead—such a clever tactic was the wrong move.
"...If you say you don't want God's mercy, then I shall grant your wish."
A final declaration was made to Girael's retreating back.
"Wha...!"
Girael tried to put more distance between them... but suddenly, a massive metallic door appeared before him.
Before he could evade, the door opened, and countless arms extended from within.
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!?"
Girael was seized by the arms, which stretched unnaturally long, ignoring any joints.
The thin, elderly-looking arms dragged Girael inside the door, pulling him into the darkness of the abyss.
"What the hell! Where the hell are you taking me?!"
"To Hell."
Reina answered.
In a voice completely devoid of interest.
"If you don't wish to go to Heaven, I've prepared another place for you. It's not really under my jurisdiction... but I made an exception."
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Girael screamed, but his throat was seized, and a hand shoved into his mouth, silencing him.
And just like that, he vanished beyond the door, which then closed shut.
"Hmph..."
Watching the door disappear... Reina let out a soft sigh.
"...I missed Lord Clael's performance. Ah, I need to catch up quickly!"
Reina pulled a hand mirror from her chest.
The mirror did not reflect her face, but instead showed a scene that shouldn't exist here.
"Ah... it's already over. I can rewatch it later, but missing it in real time is such a disappointment..."
Seeing Clael's figure reflected in the mirror, Reina looked troubled.
By then, Girael was already forgotten, and her mind was filled entirely with thoughts of Clael.