novelraw Chapter 98 : Chapter 98
Chapter 98 : Chapter 98
Chapter 98. The Saintess (3)
The underground prison of the mansion.
Moisture seeped between the cold stone walls.
Ttuk.
At the same time as a collected drop of water fell, the door suddenly opened.
Squeak.
Noctavira slowly raised her head.
It was obvious that Frank had come to give her blood.
But she was flustered as soon as she saw the person before her.
"You are?"
The person looking down at her was not Frank.
Instead, the black-clad Anonymous stood there.
In one hand, a glass full of blood.
In the other, a pen and a report.
"Why are you so surprised?"
Anonymous gave a fishy smile.
Her gaze was also cold.
An arrogant attitude, as if she were the superior party, and the other a subordinate. No, a third-rate one at that.
Noctavira asked cautiously.
"Where is Frank, and why have you come in person?"
"Why? Do you want to see him?"
She asked with a smile as if it were nothing, but there was a strange edge to that smile.
"It's not that, but..."
Noctavira trailed off.
Even so, her mind was racing.
This was an unexpected situation.
The person who always gave her blood was Frank.
But today, Anonymous had brought it herself.
And with a face tinged with something like jealousy.
'Couldn't I use this to my advantage?'
Anonymous's attitude towards Frank was clearly love.
An unrequited love, at that.
Noctavira tilted her head slightly and raised the corners of her mouth.
Slowly, but surely, she threw out a provocation.
"Yes. I do want to see him."
In an instant, Anonymous's expression contorted severely.
It was precisely the expression Noctavira had hoped for.
She uttered an even bolder remark.
"He's completely smitten with me."
The air instantly froze.
Anonymous's gaze turned sharp.
"What did you say?"
"You saw it too, didn't you? He smiles whenever he sees me. He always treats me with warm eyes."
"Don't talk nonsense. You're just an experimental subject. Do you think you're something special?"
"Yes. I am special."
Noctavira deliberately put on a more flirtatious act as she spoke.
"Aren't you here in person because you're afraid you'll lose him to me?"
As soon as those words ended.
Slap!!
A searing impact spread across her cheek.
"Don't get cocky."
Anonymous's voice was low, but it trembled slightly.
Anger could be read in her blazing eyes.
"He's mine."
But as if it didn't hurt, Noctavira smirked instead.
"That's not for you to decide."
"What?"
Anonymous's eyes wavered once again.
"In the end, what's important is what choice he makes, isn't it?"
Noctavira rubbed her cheek and smiled lightly.
"Of course, it won't be you."
"You seductive vampire!"
Anonymous's hand trembled.
But Noctavira watched even that with composure.
Eventually, Anonymous's patience reached its limit.
As if unable to hold back any longer, consumed by anger,
Splash!
She threw the blood she was holding onto the floor.
"If you want to drink it, crawl over and drink it."
Her coldly spat-out voice was like a taunt thrown at prey.
But Noctavira didn't flinch.
If it was a battle she couldn't win anyway, she was willing to go deeper.
Because, 'This fight, if played right, I could be the winner.'
Anonymous's cold words dug into her ears.
"Hmph."
As if not even worth talking to anymore, she turned her back, opened the door, and left.
Thump!
The sound of the heavy door closing echoed throughout the prison.
Now, only Noctavira was left in the prison.
She muttered to herself with a confident face.
"This fight. It's worth a try."
Anonymous's emotions.
Frank's attitude.
It seemed she could twist this entire situation to her advantage.
Noctavira slowly raised the corners of her mouth.
"This will be interesting."
It was the moment she became certain she could escape this place.
That feeling was fleeting.
Without realizing it, she lowered her gaze to the floor.
The blood Anonymous had spilled was spread on the stone floor.
The scent of blood stimulating her nose.
Why was that?
Noctavira felt as if her throat was burning.
She tried to maintain her reason, but her body reacted differently.
A hot thirst seemed to paralyze the tip of her tongue.
'What's happening to me?'
The composure from before crumbled.
An unbearable thirst.
'I can't drink it. But...'
But her hand was already moving.
The blood Anonymous had thrown was intensely seducing her.
'I can't take it anymore. Urgh.'
Lick.
The tip of her tongue brushed the floor.
One drop.
The moment that blood wet her tongue, a thrill ran through her entire body.
Zzzap.
It was humiliating.
But the sensation of this thirst being quenched was accompanied by a strange pleasure.
In the end, like a beast, she licked up all the blood spilled on the floor without leaving a single drop.
Shameful, but at the same time, a goosebump-inducing thrill dominated her entire being.
***
After finishing my conversation with Isabel, I returned to my room with heavy steps.
I closed the door, threw myself onto the bed, and let out a deep sigh.
'A problem.'
My mind was a mess.
If I protected Iris, Isabel was a concern.
If I thought of Isabel, I might have to give up Iris.
'Both are precious people to me.'
But if I had to choose,
'Iris is more precious.'
Because she is my daughter.
For whatever reason, I couldn't lose my daughter again.
How much effort had I put in to get her back?
I couldn't let her leave now for the reason of becoming a Saintess.
That said, I couldn't completely ignore Isabel either.
She sincerely liked me and had waited for me for a long time.
'I don't want to take her feelings lightly.'
It was truly a dilemma.
Then suddenly.
'Is this really an oracle?'
It wasn't a simple suspicion, but a distrust close to intuition.
Of course, it was possible that Isabel had truly received the Goddess's oracle and was relaying the result.
But what if she was using this opportunity to come back to me?
What if she loved me so much that she wanted to cast off the role of Saintess and was using the 'oracle' as an excuse to send Iris in her place?
Was this just my excessive speculation?
Because this had never happened in the game, that thought grew even stronger.
Perhaps right now, Isabel was, 'Putting on an act.'
I rested my chin on my hand and thought deeply.
What if she was lying?
There was one way to confirm this.
You might ask if it's impossible since only the Saintess can hear the Goddess's oracle.
No. There is a way.
I snapped my fingers.
'Lake Kalle.'
I just had to perform the ritual there.
Lake Kalle was a place where one could confirm the oracle in the game.
A place where I could directly check the Goddess's message without having to go all the way to the grand cathedral.
Of course, this method was, at best, a shortcut.
If the Saintess directly delivering the oracle was the standard procedure, then the ritual at Lake Kalle was no different from peeking at the oracle.
'To think I'd end up using this here.'
A bitter smile formed on its own.
But it couldn't be helped.
This wasn't a simple matter of faith.
It was about Iris's fate.
And confirming Isabel's true feelings.
I got up from my seat and immediately rang the bell.
Tinkle.
A moment later, a familiar footstep was heard.
"Did you call, Master?"
Anonymous, dressed in black, opened the door and entered.
I looked at her and said bluntly.
"Let's go to Lake Kalle right now."
"Right now?"
"Yes."
"Is there a reason?"
"Perhaps."
Anonymous shrugged and nodded, saying she understood.
'The die is already cast.'
I will go to Lake Kalle.
And I will confirm it myself.
Whether Isabel's words are true, or merely her act.
***
A massive shadow splitting the sky.
I was flying towards Lake Kalle on the back of Anonymous, who had transformed into a dragon.
Swoooosh-
The harsh wind slapped past my ears.
But my gaze was directed at her.
'Something's strange.'
Usually, she would strike up a conversation, asking about the speed and chatting about this and that.
But she was too quiet today.
"What's wrong? Is something the matter?"
I asked with a suspicious face.
But she gave no answer.
She just looked ahead and silently flapped her wings.
'She seems very displeased. Why is she like that?'
Did something happen?
But it was difficult to press her for answers here.
Anyway, if she had no intention of speaking, there was no way for me to know what had happened.
I shrugged and looked up at the sky.
Cumulus clouds stretched out endlessly.
Above them, a bright moon presented a mesmerizing scenery.
One was a yellow moon, like on Earth.
The other was a red moon.
Proof that this was a fantasy world.
Even while lost in appreciation, Anonymous cut through the clouds and moved forward swiftly.
'At this speed, we'll arrive within the day.'
Actually, before calling Anonymous, I briefly considered asking Noemi first.
Since Noemi could instantly move to any place she had been to once using transition magic.
But Lake Kalle was a place located in the eastern part of the continent.
There was no way Noemi would have been there.
'It's far, but it's a completely different place from the adjacent Demon Territory.'
So, I chose Anonymous as the next best option.
More than anything, I didn't want to show the ritual to be performed at Lake Kalle to Noemi, a Child of God.
If Noemi saw it, there was a possibility she would interrogate me about how I knew such a thing.
Anyway, she wasn't on Noemi's level, but thanks to Anonymous, I could move quickly.
'As expected, traveling by dragon makes getting anywhere fast.'
I can't even imagine what kind of hardship I would have gone through if I hadn't made her a companion.
I glanced down at my feet.
A forest growing closer.
In the middle of it, a huge lake was visible.
A clear water surface without a single point of light.
A bluish mist was faintly spreading.
But more than anything, I felt like I would be overwhelmed by its enormous size.
'They said this was a place created by Primus with 10th-tier magic that only a god can use.'
How on earth could such a huge lake be created by the power of just one person?
I couldn't help but wonder what percentage of a chance we had of winning against him.
But I quickly shook my head.
'You have to try to know. If I already consider defeat, I won't be able to accomplish anything.'
Before long, we were able to land near Lake Kalle.
I remained on her back and surveyed the surroundings.
It was a place I had visited often in the game, but this was my first time actually coming here.
'It's truly enormous.'
A size that made me realize the saying that Lake Kalle would still be larger even if the entire Benedict Kingdom was dropped into it was true.
I silently got off her back and quietly looked at the lake.
And without any hesitation, I drew my sword, Slice.
and slit my wrist.
A sharpness that felt like it could even cut the soul.
Soon, a hot sensation spread from my wrist.
"Master?"
Startled, Anonymous approached me.
Her pupils were shaking greatly as if there had been an earthquake.
"What on earth are you doing!"
But I raised my hand and stopped her.
"Just watch."
She was flustered and didn't know what to do, but she didn't open her mouth any further.
I slowly let the flowing blood drip into the lake.
Red drops falling onto the blue surface of the water.
Creating ripples, they seeped deep like a shimmering haze.
At that moment.
Wooooong.
With a short tremor, the lake began to glow brightly.
The calm surface of the water was dyed gold, and small waves spread around.
The light grew more and more intense.
The surface of the water swelled as if it were alive.
Then, a huge pillar of light shot up towards the sky.
Fwoooom!
At the dazzling sight, Anonymous covered her eyes.
I too momentarily turned my gaze away from the intense light.
A short while later.
The light soared high into the sky before pouring down like a waterfall, engraving a single sentence on the surface of the water.
I squinted my eyes and stared intently at it.