“Ouch.”
When I returned home after briefly meeting Isidor, my thoughts were wandering all evening and I cut my hand on the sharp edge of a paper. The cut was very deep and red blood spread on my finger.
The truth was, my heart kept fluttering because of the serious atmosphere Isidor was giving off. To the point that I couldn’t even feel the pain in my finger. For him, who was always laid-back, to have a serious look on his face, it meant it wasn’t something ordinary.
Roughly stopping the bleeding with a handkerchief, I lay down in bed feeling disturbed. It was obvious that I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything while feeling like this.
‘It shouldn’t be a big deal.’
I stared blankly at the roses and snakes embroidered on the white canopy cloth for a very long time, and then fell asleep.
And I had the weird dream about the desert once again. Strange dreams were recurring after being swept away by the mana wave caused by the ancient artifact. In the dream, I walked and walked again in a sandy breeze that blew restlessly.
Suddenly. The moment I saw the half-destroyed marble building, information I didn’t know flowed into my mind.
This desert used to be a village. However, the life force of the land was quickly exhausted due to the monster raid, becoming a desert, and the deteriorating area was increasing.
In the dream, I stood in the middle of the desert feeling depressed, looking up at the scorching sun, then looking around my surroundings while feeling extremely thirsty. There was only sand inside the broken well.
‘This is painful.’
I had a soul that was blessed by God, but I was on the verge of exhaustion after not drinking a sip of water for only a few days.
In the end, I collapsed inside the dream. As I lay stretched out in the desert, barely holding my breath, a man approached me.
“I thought you were a corpse.”
I couldn’t see his face well due to the strong backlight as he was standing against the sun, but in the meantime, I could see the canteen hanging from the man’s waist.
“Water…”
I barely squeezed out my strength.
“Water? What can I do about it?”
“I think I’m going to die of thirst right now. Are you not going to have mercy on me?”
“You’re not the only one dying.”
“I know how to use divine power. Although I don’t look good right now, people refer to people like me as saints…”
I made my own PR in the dream, feeling desperate. Because I was desperate for water.
“You know you’re not the only one claiming to be a saint, right? It’s such a cliché.”
He was about to leave as if it was something insignificant, so I crawled and held onto him.
“Don’t touch me. How dare you, with those dirty hands…”
Disgusted, he shook my hands off as if they were a bug. He didn’t seem to like being touched by others.
“You’ll need my strength when you cross the desert.”
“Divine power? If you want to convince me, you should be creative instead. I’ve never been hurt before.”
“Don’t be so certain about everything. The monsters that appear in this area are poisonous.”
The ground shook sharply right when I finished my words.
“Talk of the Devil, and he is sure to appear.”
Due to the centipede-like monster rising above the ground, there were sandstorms everywhere, and grains of sand entered my ears and mouth. Even though it was a dream, the sensation of spitting a grain of sand sticking to my dry tongue was too vivid. I was terribly thirsty, like I was being strangled.
Soon, a golden sword that was more intense than the sun passed by, and the dark mucus of the monster splashed on my face.
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, I woke up and took a deep breath.
‘Why are my dreams so violent these days?’
It seemed like I had some kind of dream because I was so absorbed in it, but I didn’t remember much of it. However, the feeling of struggling inside the nightmare remained. On the one hand, it felt hopelessly distant, and on the other, it was despairing.
‘I’ve been having similar nightmares ever since I was swept away by the mana wave.’
And I was frustrated that I didn’t know why.
Breathing heavily, I reached for the glass of water on the bedside table. Today too, I was sweating profusely, and my thirst was severe. It seemed like I didn’t sleep much, but the day was already bright.
I moved my damp body to get out of bed and untied the handkerchief I had put around my finger before washing my hands.
‘What? The wound…’
I thought I had cut myself quite deeply on the paper, but the wound was healed.
***
“I had a revelation.”
The woman’s lovely voice echoed through the cave. The disciples, who were absorbed in black magic, bowed constantly in front of the master who was wearing a mask in front of the altar.
“What do you mean, a revelation! How long has it been?”
The devil’s revelation was like an oracle to the dark wizards. Marquis François even shed tears of emotion. The devil who had signed a contract with the woman was bound by constraints as great as he was strong, so making a revelation in person meant that it was something important.
“Everyone, be quiet.”
The woman frowned slightly and continued.
“In the end, it wasn’t good news.”
“What revelation have you received that you say so?”
“Lord Lucifer said that he felt the real saintess’ power, although weakly.”
“The s-saintess?”
The cave became silent as a dead mouse. Something happened that contradicted their plan.
‘I didn’t think it would happen, but the real saintess showed up.’
The master of the dark wizards, the 4th Empress of the Empire. Jamila Baskar’s eyes darkened. If the real saintess showed up according to Lucifer’s revelation, it would be a major setback to the plan.
〈The Fake Saintess Project〉
The 4th Empress, born in the Nerman Empire, had been planning for a long time to give legitimacy to her son, the 3rd Prince.
The 3rd Prince, who had mixed blood with a foreign country and did not manifest the blue hair, a symbol of the imperial family, was much less legitimate than the crown prince, Behonik Hystch.
‘If the 3rd Prince is appointed as the crown prince, the nobles’ backlash will be as obvious as fire. And the people as well.”
She needed a dramatic scenario to put her mixed-blood son on the throne and put the nosy Azuteans under his feet, but it was the saintess who would play an important role in the play.
There was such a thing written on the tombstone that received the oracle from ancient times.
[Do not be afraid of the deep darkness. The Saintess sent by God will appear.
The one chosen by the Saintess will be honored as a hero for generations.]
In fact, the people of the empire thought that the first emperor, Dominique Hystch, was the hero chosen by Saint Nyla. The saintess’ choice had a stronger symbolic meaning than the blue hair, the symbol of the imperial family.
‘If the saintess chooses my son to be emperor, he will be acknowledged by the people as well as the nobles of the empire.’
No, they would have no choice but to acknowledge him. In the end, it was a fight of moral duty.
‘I will create the darkness. My son.’
Her red lips went up in an arc.
‘You are worthy of the praise of the Chosen.’
The moment she faced the dark eyes of her son, full of self-confidence, Jamila vowed for all the good things in the world to be held in his small hand.
She thought it was possible enough. Jamila had a strong power called black magic to make her desires come true, and she also had followers that practiced the dark arts.
Originally, Jamila planned to make Mia Vinoche into the saintess, as she was easy to deal with because she was a fallen noble and even the discerning nobles admired her for her beauty.
However, the plan to make Mia the saintess of the empire and choose her son, the 3rd Prince, had been hampered at some point. Even after receiving all kinds of material and human support, Mia has not been active in the social world at all.
In the end, it was important for the nobles to recognize her as a saintess, but Mia was only recognized by a few thousand people.
‘And we even used the Holy Blood like that!’
What they called the Holy Blood, was a life force with high purity extracted through the sacrifice of thousands, and tens of thousands of people.
Although it may sound contradictory that the dark arts, which were based on the power of the devil, were able to create a life force with high purity that could deceive the high priest through black magic, it was possible because Jamila was Lucifer’s contractor.
“The roots of divine power and black magic are the same.”
Said Lucifer, who was the archangel who guarded the gates of Heaven and eventually became the fourth devil of Hell. Just as magic and aura are based on the vast energy of mana, divine power and black magic are only the heads and tails of the same coin.
“Contractor. When I was in the supreme Heaven, or in Hell, the bottom of the world, my power has always been the same.”
Every change in the natural world must take place in a direction of increasing disorder. However, divine power and black magic are the opposite.
In exchange for faith, God reverses the laws of nature to restore mankind’s broken bones and flesh. The Devil reverses the laws of nature in exchange for the sacrifice of one’s soul to satisfy mankind’s desires. For example, the desire for a life that is close to eternal life, a body that endures incurable diseases, and a body that does not grow old…
As Lucifer had dealt with both powers, Jamila, who was his contractor, was able to use his wisdom to subtly change the dark arts to make them seem like they were divine power, like changing the front and back of a coin. She lived in the middle of the imperial family, who suppressed black magic the most, so it was a secret that could never be discovered.
However, if the real saintess appeared, all her efforts would be futile.
“You have to find the real saintess and kill her before she can make her mark.”
Although Mia was a moving puppet in her hands, the real saintess had too many variables.
“Your order is my command.”
The mysterious man who handled bugs replied, lowering his head to the floor.
‘Even so, since we know the real saintess appeared, we are a few steps ahead.’
Jamila narrowed her eyes as she thought so.
“First of all… See if there is a girl with strong divine power among the recently born babies.”
The search for the saintess began.
