CH 49

“Commander! Are you all right!”

The knights rushed at Ian as he came out of the church door.

The knights were all messed up with the blood and body fluids of the beast, but no one was seriously injured.

All the beasts struggled to enter the cathedral rather than fight the knights.

At some point, they floundered like puppets with broken threads.

The knights realized everything at once.

‘The Commander did it.’

According to the most recent reports, these beasts are owned by the Incubus King.

Incubus is a mighty demon. They could not be said to be powerful if it was their king.

The beasts, led by King Incubus, raided Rycallion and settled in the cathedral.

No matter how powerful they were, the king would not have been able to defeat the Holy Knights.

The Incubus King, on the other hand, became more powerful than ever after swallowing the holy stone.

And the beasts which followed him grew stronger as well.

When the beasts stumbled, it meant that their master was in trouble.

“You did it, Commander!”

“Are there any injuries?”

They were expecting Ian to come out with the Incubus King’s supplies. Instead, he came out holding a woman in both arms.

The knights were captivated by the scene.

“Oh, the saintess…!”

“Saintess! Are you all right!”

The knights were taken aback when they discovered who the drooping woman in Ian’s arms was.

“Get out of the way.”

Ian commanded.

The knights hurriedly backed away from the voice, which was deeper than usual.

“Did you find a safe place nearby?”

“Yes, Commander. It’s good news. The search party has found a cave with survivors! It’s not far from here.”

“I will go there.”

Ian’s face was frighteningly stiff as he stated this.

He was shown around by the knights.

“Yes, Commander. I’ll take you this way…!”

Ian took a step and looked down at Irene.

His blue eyes stared at Irene and were filled with mixed emotions.

‘Fuck it.’

Then the Incubus King collapsed at that word.

‘Be careful of what you wish for.’

A divine power to make what is said come true.

‘Sometimes people who are born with divine power used to do it… … .’

Long ago, it was known that Jasper, the saintess of wisdom in the legend, also used that ability.

The holy sword weakened them, but still, the king was the king.

With a single word, the woman brought down the mighty beast and was calmly held in his arms.

‘Saintess, Ra…….’

Ian looked down at Irene for a moment.

Her tightly shut eyes seemed at ease as if she were dreaming.

In fact, Ian wasn’t completely convinced that she was a saintess.

The evidence was clear, but something about it made her suspicious.

His suspicions whispered in his instincts that she was hiding something fatal about her from him.

But now that this has happened, he has no choice but to believe it.

That Irene Grace is loved by God.

But is it really a blessing?

“……Irene.”

He bowed slightly and whispered that he only reached her when her eyes were still tight.

That much reaction comes with her strong power.

Ian remembered Irene passing out when the Incubus stopped breathing after hearing that single word.

She fell to the floor like a doll with a broken thread.

“Your power, please never use it again.”

He didn’t know why his heart was beating as it would stop.

But obviously, it was something he didn’t want to see again.

“I’ll make sure you don’t have to use it anymore.”

Ian looked down at Irene quietly after finishing his whisper.

Irene’s eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings as if she understood what he said.

***

“Ugh……”

As soon as I woke up, I had a headache.

“What happened? Did I get drunk and fell asleep yesterday?’

I felt dizzy and nauseous, as if I had a bad hangover.

‘Wait. What happened to make me fall asleep last night?’

I immediately opened my eyes after searching my hazy mind.

“That demon!”

I remembered the last time I saw a devil’s face.

Yeah, I was dealing with him alongside Ian.

It seems that I passed out when I noticed the memory was suddenly cut off, but I do not recall what happened after that.

What happened to him?

“Lady Irene. Are you all right!”

A familiar voice was heard in my ears.

As I turned my head, I saw Dame Joan running towards me with a worried look on her face.

“Stay in your bed.  You must have complete rest.”

“Dame Joan……Where the hell am I?”

I looked around blankly.

This was a strange place.

The whole area was covered with black rocks. It reminded me of a cave.

The strangest thing was the black rocks emitting fluorescent green light.

“This is a safe zone. The survivors were hiding here to avoid the beasts.”

“Pardon? Really?”

My eyes were wide open.

Then there was a rumbling sound.

“Is the saintess awake?”

“Shhh, she is talking to Dame Joan.”

“Whoa, you are the real saintess……”

I was startled when I turned my head.

People’s eyes shone brightly like fireflies from afar.

“Oh, she looked this way.”

“You look so cute.”

“Hey, it’s disrespectful to the saint.”

“Hey, did you hear what I said?”

Yes, I can clearly hear them.

With blank eyes, I continued to look around.

“Dame Joan. Those people……”

“Yes. They are the survivors of Rycallion.”

That’s great news.

A sigh of relief escaped my lips.

The survivors appeared out of nowhere, hiding amongst themselves, looking for a safe haven.

“Dame Joan, how about your family?”

I asked carefully, and Dame Joan put a faint smile on his lips.

“I found them.”

“Really!”

I jumped up without realizing it.

“Thank God, really, really!”

“Thank you. Lady Irene.”

Dame Joan bowed her head in respect.

“It seems that God Elune has heard the saintess’s prayer.”

“No, what did I do?”

I didn’t really do anything, now that I think about it.

It was a prayer that muttered only a few words to Elune, and it was the same in the cathedral.

[TL/N: This means she is a fake priestess – pretended to be a believer; it’s the same thing that she is a fake Saintess and only prays to god for a particular reason.]

It was Ian who went up against the demon. What I only did was hide behind his back and boost his morale… Saying that would have been nice. It would have just made me crazy.

“Is Commander Ian all right?”

“The Commander has been by Lady Irene’s side just now.”

“What?”

My pupils dilated.

That busy man was by my side?

Why? Did he want to rest?

“Do you recall Lady Irene passing out?”

Dame Joan asked in a worried voice.

“The Commander was concerned that a lot of energy would have leaked out of Lady Irene’s body.”

“Yes? Are you referring to my divine power? Why?”

I asked for something that hit me up.

Is there any divine power in my body?

“I don’t know the details because the Commander did not tell me. Could it be because you had close contact with the King of Incubus?”

“Oh……”

That’s true. But because he is a powerful demon, I’m not sure what the effect it had on my body.

I rummaged through my memories again before I passed out, but nothing came to mind.

“I think that’s why Lady Irene fainted.”

I thought of that demon in my head.

Although he appeared to be attractive, he was actually a powerful demon.

‘It hurts, it really hurts…… Please help me.’

I suddenly remembered the figure the devil had been begging for.

I can’t believe he could bring the demon down at that level. I was once again terrified of Ian.

I can’t remember what happened after that, but seeing that I’m still alive like this, Ian must have ended the demon.

‘Let’s not be arrogant either.’

I looked back at Dame Joan naturally.

“Is Commander Ian also fine?”

“Yes. The Commander is completely safe. He will now be dealing with the remnants with the battle corps.”

“All right.”

I nodded my head.

“Dame Joan, is your family here now?”

“Oh. They’re close by.”

“Go to your family. You don’t have to be tied up here because of me.”

“But….”

“Noona!”

After that, I heard the child’s clear voice.

“Darren. I said don’t come here.”

The expression of Dame Joan had hardened.

With a scared expression on his face, a young boy named Darren burst into tears.

“Noona, but, Alicia… Alicia.”

“Why Alicia?”

For a brief moment, Dame Joan’s eyes flashed with panic.

“Alisha is having trouble breathing. She huffs strangely… The fever is rising. Ugh, What am I supposed to do?”

“Dame Joan, go ahead.”

I hastily stated. Dame Joan bit her lower lip.

“I’m sorry, Lady Irene. Excuse me for a moment.”

It happened right before I was about to dispatch Dame Joan.

I could hear the murmur of people.

“What’s going on?”

“Dame Joan, her youngest sister, seems to be getting worse. It is extremely difficult for a child to go through this.”

“I’m happy though. The saintess is here.”

“I know. That’s really fortunate. It’s like a miracle.”

‘…….Huh?’

I detected an anomaly and secretly returned my gaze to the crowd.

People stared at me in wonder and anticipation.

“It was because of the saintess’ prayer that Joan found this location.”

“He truly is a saintess.”

I swung my gaze around.

Hearing this, it seems there will be a lot of weight on my shoulders.

Everyone seemed to believe that I could heal a little girl named Alicia.

“Hmm, Dame Joan.”

I instinctively opened my mouth.

I just couldn’t help myself. Given this, I have no choice but to go pretend to pray.

“Alicia, is her condition getting worse?”

“She will be fine. Do not worry.”

“I will go too.”

Dame Joan shook her head at my request.

“You shouldn’t overdo it.”

“I can’t do much anyway. What I could do was just praying. It doesn’t matter.”

Dame Joan’s eyes seemed to tell that she was hesitant. I didn’t waste any time and jumped up to take the lead.

“Now, let’s get moving. Did Dame Joan say your name is Darren?”

A boy named Darren looked up at me blankly.

“Yes, yes… Saintess noona.”

“Please guide me to where Alicia is.”

“Yes!”

Darren nodded vigorously.

After a while, we reached where Alicia was lying.

Many people were already there, and they were guarding Alicia, who had already fainted.

‘Huh? What exactly are they up to?

My eyes were puzzled.

If I looked closely, I could see that people were putting some kind of green ore on Alicia’s body.