Chapter 29: The Saintess on the Corpse (1)

Karl and Sierra stood in front of the grand, tightly closed doors of the cathedral.

The doors were firmly shut, as if to clearly say no one was allowed to enter. They rejected Karl and Sierra.

“We clearly received a letter saying we could come.”

“I’m sorry, but right now the cathedral is in the middle of an important—”

Karl slammed his fist against the giant door. The deafening sound echoed in the ears of the priest who had been trying to

stop him.

“Are you joking right now?”

“No, I mean… The cathedral is currently…”

Karl was not in his right mind. After failing to find Charlotte, they had finally thought Serxia might help… and now this

damned cathedral was blocking even that chance.

“They said we could come… They said we could come!!!”

The priest trying to stop Karl was nearly crying now, trembling in front of him.

Meanwhile, Sierra noticed something odd about the atmosphere in the cathedral.

The way the priests were staring at them was strange. It was like they were angry—almost as if they were being told not to

interfere.

At last, the heavy door opened. A high-ranking priest with silver hair stepped out.

“May Lady Aria’s blessing be upon you… It’s an honor to meet you both.”

“Yeah? Then why the hell didn’t you open the door after sending us a letter saying we could come?”

“Right now, the cathedral is going through a very sacred moment in offering devotion to Lady Aria… Please return at

another time—”

Before he could finish, Karl grabbed the priest by the collar.

The silver-haired priest dangled off the ground, kicking his feet as he struggled to breathe.

“You call that an explanation? Right now?”
 Right now…”

Sierra tapped Karl on the shoulder, as if she sensed something from inside the open cathedral.

“Karl. Calm down.”

“…Fine.”

Karl dropped the priest onto the floor like throwing down a sack. He turned to Sierra.

Rising on her toes, Sierra whispered in Karl’s ear.

“Something’s off. Picking a fight now won’t help us.”

“But still…”

“Karl… Who am I again?”

Karl gave a bitter smile and kissed Sierra on the cheek.

“If they pull this crap again next time, I’ll talk to Her Majesty myself. Imagine that—refusing entry to members of the

Hero’s Party that defeated the Demon King. What a joke of a cathedral.”

“…I’m sorry. I promise we’ll treat you properly next time.”

The silver-haired priest bowed so low his head nearly touched his waist and didn’t raise it until Karl and Sierra were out

of sight.

 Come to think of it, isn’t this dangerous? It’s still a cathedral.”

“So what? I don’t plan on getting caught.”

Inside the carriage, Sierra changed into light armor and covered her face with a black mask.

“You really live up to your old title—Royal Guard, Black Ops Division.”

“Stop. One more word and I’ll punch you.”

Sierra shook her head like she didn’t want to hear it anymore and opened the carriage door while it was still moving.

“Then… I’ll leave it to you.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll do what I can.”

With her face and mouth covered in a black mask, Sierra leapt from the carriage.

“Let’s head to the nearest village. We’ll rest there for the night.”

“Understood.”

She’d already told the coachman what to do. Now, all they could do was trust Sierra’s stealth skills.

They were looking for the book that described the conditions for Holy Power manifestation—what Serxia had asked them

to find.

‘But what is Holy Power anyway?’

Regular priests could use basic healing magic, but that was just magic.

Healing magic treated light wounds caused by magic—but it wasn’t Holy Power.

Holy Power opposed mana and amplified healing to its maximum potential—a power only the Aria Order had.

Saints born from the Aria Order were always symbols of the Order itself.

There had never been a Saint like Charlotte—one who died so easily. All the previous Saints had lived long lives.

Charlotte once said that Holy Power could even heal oneself easily. Though… she also said it didn’t work on her.

So when they sent her off, the Order practically threatened her.

They said that if Charlotte died, the Hero’s Party would die too.

Karl’s head ached again.

Thinking about the journey three years ago… something always felt off.

They knew how important Charlotte was, so why did they make a plan where she had to sacrifice her life?

Holding his splitting head, Karl took a deep breath.

“Charlotte…”

The more he closed his eyes, the more he saw her being attacked by the wolf.

This wasn’t the first time a comrade had died. Many comrades died to monsters back when he worked as a knight for the

Empire.

Even as a mercenary, after quitting the knight’s order due to his own fault, others had died.

But… Charlotte’s death felt different. It felt like it ripped his entire life apart.

“What the hell is this…”

If it were just him feeling this way, he would’ve thought it was his personal issue.

But Sierra said she kept thinking of Charlotte too. So it wasn’t just him.

Surely Eris… and Alec felt it too.

They must have. Definitely…

“Too easy,” Sierra muttered.

Something about sneaking into the cathedral felt wrong.

There were no magical traps. Barely any guards.

Inside, the place was less protected than outside. No guards at all.

People just prayed in the chapel while high-ranking priests occasionally wandered by.

Most were gathered in the prayer room, priests crying and praying out loud like desperate children begging for candy.

“ Lady Aria! Lady Aria.

They looked like lunatics.

Sierra used wind magic to silence her footsteps and invisibility magic to stay unseen.

But she didn’t need any of it. The cathedral had no security.

It was so quiet it felt like a trap, sending chills down her spine.

After sneaking deeper inside, she started looking for the library.

She felt someone approaching and hid against the wall.

She held her breath and waited.

A blond priest stopped right in front of the wall Sierra was hiding behind.

He quietly bowed his head and stared at the floor, then walked away.

Sierra let out a cold sweat. She thought she’d been caught.

She moved again, deeper into the cathedral.

She sighed softly and looked around. There was a door nearby.

–Halley–

‘A priest’s room?’ she thought.

She prepared a spell in case someone was inside and opened the door.

It was a strange room—half of it covered in bookshelves.

‘Is this really a priest’s room…?’

The room was empty. She quietly searched the books.

–Year XX Aurora Report–

–Year XX Haily Report–

–Year XX Charlotte Report–

These were names of past Saints.

She pulled out the “Charlotte Report” and began reading… and nearly went insane from the shock.

The Order… was insane.

They used children…?

Was this how Holy Power was manifested?

Holy Power wasn’t some gift from the gods.

“Sick bastards… Sick bastards… Sick bastards…!!!”

This wasn’t something sane people would do.

Even as someone who had seen plenty of horrible things working in the Royal Guard’s Black Ops…

She couldn’t believe they had done this for so long without being exposed.

She felt chills. Her eyes welled up.

Just as she was about to leave with the report—

That same blond priest was now sitting by the door, blocking it.

“Hello.”

Sierra immediately lunged at him with magic, aiming a dagger at his throat—

But the priest raised his hands in surrender even faster.

“Calm down.”

“…This is our first time meeting, right?”

He knew her name.

This wasn’t a place she was supposed to be. There was only one door.

If she was going to escape, she’d have to kill him.

“Relax. I won’t tell anyone.”

“I didn’t expect you to come in here… So I guess pretending not to notice was meaningless.”

‘Damn. He did catch me earlier.’

“I’m sensitive to magic. Even most mages don’t notice… Anyway, let’s talk.”

He stood up and sat on the bed.

“My name, as you saw earlier, is Halley. I was one of Lady Charlotte’s close aides.

She used to call me the ‘Golden Priest,’ haha!”

“…You’re not laughing either. Yeah… I wouldn’t laugh either if I were you.”

He wiped his face, searching for words.

“Don’t you think the cathedral feels… insane right now?”

“Can you say something? I promise, I won’t tell anyone. We can’t even have a conversation like this…”

“Damn it.”

Sierra removed her mask and swore.

Halley gave a quiet smile.

“Thank you. I swear on Lady Aria’s name—I won’t tell a soul.”

“…So what do you want to say?”

“How was the report?”

Sierra was furious.

If the report was true, then the cathedral wasn’t holy—it was a nest of criminals.

“That’s how normal people react. Anger. Disgust. Refusal to forgive.”

“So… It is true?”

Halley looked like he was about to throw up. He stared at Sierra with a crazed expression.

“Want to check for yourself?”

“What…?”

“There’s another report I made. On the desk.”

A newly written report lay on the desk:

–Year XX Ariana Report–

It was this year’s report. Sierra felt chills.

“You don’t mean…”

“Yeah… Unfortunately.”

Tears fell from Halley’s eyes as he looked up at the ceiling.

“They’ve already started choosing the next Saint. That child… will probably be it. If she survives.”

“You bastards!!”

Sierra threw her dagger, stabbing Halley in the shoulder.

Blood dripped, but he didn’t flinch. He just quietly cried.

“What if I screamed?”

“I would’ve slit your throat before you finished.”

“Good thing I didn’t.”

Halley chuckled, then suddenly looked dead serious.

“You can take the reports.”

“What…?”

“I can’t do this anymore. How did they do this for hundreds of years? I shouldn’t have joined this damned Order.”

He muttered, then tossed a key to Sierra.

“That opens a hidden door beside the prayer room—leading underground.”

“What?”

“Go see it. Check if it’s real with your own eyes.”

A trap? A trick? Sierra hesitated.

“Go around 1 AM. That’s when it’ll begin. I think today’s in charge is… the Silver Priest? Hahaha…”

“You think I’d walk into an obvious trap?”

“It’s not a trap… Even if you have the report, the Empire won’t believe you. They’ll call it ramblings of a madman.”

Even Sierra knew it’d be hard to get anyone to believe the Order did something this horrific.

“…Do all priests know how Saints are born?”

“No. That’s just… how they are. Mad, really.”

“What?”

“They’ve been like this since they announced Charlotte’s death. Saying a new Saint must come…”

Halley stood up, eyes rolling back as he shouted:

“Prayer will bring us a new Saint! O, the Saint who shall save us is coming!!!”

He didn’t look like a priest—he looked like a fanatic.

“They think Saints come from prayer. Isn’t it hilarious?”

“They’re bastards.”

Laughing bitterly, Halley suddenly began crying.

“Did you know… I killed someone yesterday.”

“And Lady Aria forgave me. Forgave my sin.”

He was broken. Truly broken.

Sierra could feel herself losing her sanity from guilt too.

But Halley was far beyond that.

“So go. Find out what happened. And bring the truth to the Empire.”

“…Why are you doing this?”

“God didn’t punish me. He forgave me. So to be punished… this is all I can do.”

Halley clasped his hands in prayer and began spinning in circles on the bed.

“If Charlotte hadn’t died… If only she hadn’t died…”

He stopped and glared at Sierra.

“It’s your fault.”

His eyes were full of madness.

“It’s your fault. Charlotte died because of you. And now I’m drowning in sin.”

“That’s—”

“You did this. You’re the reason those children…”

Sierra couldn’t even meet his crazed gaze.

“Because of you!!”

He lunged, but Sierra grabbed his neck and choked him out.

He squirmed until his body went limp—with a peaceful, almost happy look on his face.

“…I know too.”

She pulled her mask on, took the report and key.

It could be a trap.

But after seeing Halley, she had to confirm it.

Was this what guilt-driven madness looked like?

If the report was true…

Maybe Serxia already knew. That’s why she wanted the book, and evidence.

Sierra stroked the “Charlotte Report,” then headed to the underground passage.

And there—

She saw hell made for children.

The smell of burning flesh, the sound of limbs being torn apart, and the screams of children filled the air.

She wanted to rush in and save them all—

But if she was caught, everything would be ruined.

Even if she ran in now, she couldn’t save anyone.

Biting her lip until it bled, she ran from the cathedral.

Now she knew:

The Golden Priest and the report were telling the truth.

And she could feel herself going mad from the guilt too.