Chapter 1260: Holy Mother and Hell

「Fufu… Because I am simply tired and I want to rest.」

Her smiling whisper conveyed deep darkness and despair. We caught a glimpse of her undead demeanor that was absent a few moments ago.

Perhaps she harbored resentment toward the living, or was mourning her past experiences.

The Holy Mother began her laments again.

「When I was alive, everyone called me a “saintess”. Yet I was abused my entire life.」

Saintess? That sounds a bit familiar…

「I’ve heard that the divine sword Diabolos was created by sacrificing a saintess.」

「Nn.」

Amanda pointed out the history of Diabolos, which reminded me of the story.

「You are correct. However, I must say I was not righteous enough for such a title. In the first place, any woman who rises to fame for their healing magic tends to get called a saintess.」

So being a saintess isn’t about having a specific occupation or title, but merely having the masses call you that?

Now that you mention it, Fran has been called the Black Cat Saintess before. Perhaps personality doesn’t really matter.

「Everyone flocked to me, only to exploit me without end. And in the end, they offered me as a sacrifice.」

I remember hearing a rumor that a saintess was sacrificed to create Diabolos, but I never expected to hear the story directly from the saintess in question.

The Holy Mother continued speaking in a grim tone.

「There was once a divine blacksmith seeking the power of the so-called saintess, as well as a country seeking a divine sword. Their interests coincided. Before I had any chance to sense the danger and flee, they forcibly enslaved me, and sent me straight to Hell.」

「Hell?」

It doesn’t sound like she’s using it as a metaphor.

「Indeed. I didn’t know it at the time, but now I know everything. In this world, there are seven supreme dungeons bearing the name of Hell.」

In this world, the concept of “Hell” doesn’t refer to a place where evildoers are sent after death. Hell refers to actual, physical locations.

Well, I doubt many people actually believe in their existence, but they do exist. These locations are the Seven Original Dungeons, the most ancient dungeons created by the Chaos Goddess, and vast labyrinths of the highest caliber.

The Seven Hells are ruled by the Seven Demon Kings, each granted the power of a deadly sin, and guarded by hordes of demons.

「A powerful party, boasting the divine blacksmith and a divine sword wielder, spent half a year conquering the labyrinth. They reached the deepest part and challenged the Demon King, Asmodeus of Lust, the Dungeon Master of the Lust Labyrinth. I was sacrificed to seal Asmodeus, forming the foundation for a new divine sword.」

This was the truth behind the forging of the divine sword Diabolos. I know there’s no such thing as a completely virtuous country, but Phyllius’s past seems to be covered in dark shadows.

Out of the Seven Hells, only three have been discovered, including the Lust Labyrinth. The remaining two were apparently hidden by the countries that found them. While the Seven Hells were distinguished from other dungeons by difficulty level and the strength of the monsters within, there’s one other clear difference.

That is to say, they never cause stampedes. The Demon Kings maintain perfect control over their respective Hell, so the demons never pour out. Which explains how they’ve gone unnoticed for so long.

「The Pride Labyrinth is in the country of the insectkin, and the Sloth Labyrinth is in the country of the birdkin. Both are operated under the control of their respective countries.」

That’s some pretty interesting info, but where did she learn that? None of our friends seem to have known this beforehand either.

「Why do you know so much?」

「I have extracted knowledge from the divine realm with Source of the Data God. Drawing targeted information from the vast sea of information would likely be impossible for an ordinary person. Fortunately, I no longer have a brain to break.」

That’s exactly like Parallel Thinking. It gives Fran a terrible headache whenever she uses it, but I have no issues. Like I thought, undead and inanimate objects must be better at using those types of skills than living people.

「It seems that the masked girl was using this skill with her body of flesh and blood… Shocking, really. Her five senses must have been overwhelmed by all sorts of information constantly. Truly, a living hell.」

Indeed, Persona couldn’t control the skill properly. As the Holy Mother says, she must have spent her days drowning in vast seas of data. Getting exposed to such a thing with no way to block it out could be called a living hell.

「However, she must have had someone supporting her.」

「Maleficent.」

『Yeah.』

I’m sure Maleficent was a major reason behind Persona being able to smile. The two lived by supporting each other.

「How enviable. I had no one to support me. The masses flocked to me only to exploit my powers, so I had no life to call my own. Even after death, I continue to be exploited…」

The saintess did not become the Holy Mother of her own volition. They exploited her corpse by turning her undead.

Necromancers like Jean, who have compassion and reverence for undead, would have allowed her to pass on eventually. However, the necromancer who toyed with the saintess’s body saw her only as a tool.

「But then! By connecting to the Source of the Data God, I managed to break free from Raydoss’s control…! I can finally fulfill my goal…」

It seems the necromancer responsible for creating the Holy Mother served the Kingdom of Raydoss. The Holy Mother had been enslaved to Raydoss ever since her creation.

At that time, Raydoss Kingdom was still a small, weak country. They were essentially subservient to Phyllius. I don’t know the details, but the saintess’s body must have been secretly smuggled to Raydoss somehow.

Moreover, her binds remained even after the death of the necromancer who revived her. The Holy Mother continued to be bound to Raydoss as a mindless undead.

However, she had an Extra Skill called “Kin Intelligence.” As the name suggests, it grants logic and reason to her servants. This skill was why the undead of the Black Skeleton Corps could think for themselves.

Throughout the years, she was constantly abused by Raydoss, thrown into whatever research or experiments they fancied.

「I refuse to be exploited by Raydoss any longer, which is why I schemed to assist their enemies. And now, at long last…」

The Holy Mother’s murmurs carried an unmistakable joy that couldn’t be hidden.