Trapped in a Game That Flopped

Chapter 128

Episode 128

"...Hh, Liv."

Nise, embracing his sister, crumpled tragically.

Snap!

In that time, I quickly grabbed the Cursed Doll I'd taken from Liv and tore the Soul-Connecting Strings with both hands.

'As I thought.'

As expected, since Liv hadn't used black magic, no system window announcing a penalty popped up.

My HP bar was also unchanged.

Srrk.

As the Soul-Connecting Strings broke, the bundle of silver thread that had shrunk to a child's form, Puppet Liv, also disappeared.

At that, a few of the watching spectators gasped in surprise.

"Gasp... Look! That woman, she destroyed it and she's fine!"

"W-wasn't it black magic?"

Among the gathered crowd, there were surely those who handled magic or had deep knowledge of it.

They knew well what happened when one destroyed an item related to black magic.

"D-don't tell me... the Pope... lied...?"

People began to realize, belatedly, that the Pope's words were false.

But that was of no comfort at all to the twins who had endured such suffering.

"No, Liv... Hh, Oppa will just, again, again..."

Nise, who was crying and clinging to Liv as her breathing grew faint, looked around frantically.

The temple humans, stunned by my attack, were scattered everywhere.

Even if he tried to take their lives for Liv's sake, I had no intention of stopping him.

'Because that's the greatest revenge Nise can get.'

Even if their crimes were acknowledged, wouldn't it just end with their execution?

I didn't want them to die so meaninglessly, either.

"Just hold on a little, Liv. Oppa will make you all better soon."

Just as Nise was about to raise his hand to use his power.

A hand reached out and stopped him.

"...Oppa."

It was Liv.

She looked at Nise and slowly shook her head.

"I... want to stop now... I want to go."

"...Liv."

"I think... I can finally let go... of my resentment for Oppa, my worries... all of it."

Her tiny voice echoed across the silent arena.

Liv, struggling to speak as if her voice would break at any moment, wore an expression of relief and peace, unlike her dying body.

"I'm sorry. For not saying it sooner..."

"..."

"I was so scared... I was just so scared... Sob."

"N-no! Stop! Don't talk!"

Liv's body trembled once, as if she would stop breathing at any moment.

At that, Nise shook his head as if having a seizure and pulled her into an embrace.

"No, don't go! I-I'm scared, Liv. H-how can I live all alone?"

"Why alone? You even made a new friend..."

At her oppa's child-like words, Liv smiled faintly and gestured toward me with her eyes.

"Sob."

At that, Nise's tear-filled eyes turned to me for a moment.

I met his gaze silently, waiting for Liv's final goodbye.

"Let go of the bad memories... and live happily now."

"..."

"Don't cry anymore, Oppa. I'll always be by your side."

"N-no... I-I'm still..."

Nise couldn't finish his sentence and just shook his head.

I felt like I knew the words he couldn't finish.

That he wasn't ready to let her go yet.

It was only natural.

He had lived such a miserable and difficult life, clinging only to the Liv he had revived.

But the death of a loved one never gives the person left behind enough time.

"...Hh, Liv!"

With Nise's cry, Liv's body, held in his arms, began to gradually crumble into silver light.

Her form, scattering particle by particle like silver dust, was not a normal form of death.

But because of that, it left an even more brilliant and beautiful impression on the people watching.

"Th-that's... just like the death of a goddess in the myths...!"

"A r-real Saintess...!"

"The Saintess has passed away!"

Amid the people's cries, the Saintess crumbled and disappeared before anything could be done.

Nise just stared blankly at the silver dust scattering and vanishing into the air.

But one particle among them didn't leave, and was swept by the wind, flying toward me.

It landed gently on the Cursed Doll I was holding.

Then, Fwaaah!

A brilliant light burst from the doll.

I could see the wood grain disappear as the dark brown doll gradually turned silver.

And then.

[Lv.999 Doll Imbued with Saintess Liv's Soul]

The Soul-Reflecting Cursed Doll had completely changed its name.

'Saintess...'

Seeing her name carved into the item after her death, a surge of emotion welled up.

Liv had always been cursed at and disparaged by users as the 'Fake Saintess'.

I, too, had thought of her as a wicked person who had stolen Nise's power and position.

But she, who had tried her best in that position, had also been a 'Real Saintess' acknowledged by all.

'If I had realized that a little sooner, would something have been different?'

Even though I knew she was fated to die in the story...

My heart felt extremely heavy.

I painstakingly swallowed my surging guilt and approached Nise, who was staring blankly at the empty air where Liv had been.

And I handed him the doll in my hand.

"Just as Liv said, she'll always be by your side."

"..."

Nise's unfocused eyes slowly shifted to the doll.

He looked at it with an indescribable expression.

I sighed and whispered.

"It's okay to cry, Nise."

"Gh..."

Only then did he let out a choked, suppressed sob.

Liv had told him not to cry anymore, but it was the death of his only family.

How could he not cry?

Nise clutched the doll imbued with his sister's soul in her place and sobbed quietly for a long time.

But separate from Liv's death, there were still things to take care of.

"Your Holiness! Are you all right! Please come to your senses, Your Holiness!"

"Ughh..."

The Pope was staggering to his feet, supported by priests who were able to move, having been out of my skill's reach.

He raged, a ridiculous sight with one cheek and eye swollen and bruised purple from my hit.

"How dare... a mere princess from a country of heretics... lay a hand on the Pope's body...!"

The Pope, spotting me standing in front of Nise, pointed at me and shrieked.

"This is beyond blasphemy, it is a challenge to the Empire! Kill that wench at once and declare a holy war on Solenia...!"

"Wouldn't it be faster for you bastards to be beaten to death first?"

I cut him off coldly and, k-krrk, rolled my clenched fist.

I was just feeling regretful that I hadn't been able to hit him more earlier.

The Pope, as well as a few of the temple bastards who were conscious, flinched.

"Eek! S-such insolence...!"

"Lady."

The moment I tried to take a step toward them, someone blocked me.

I turned my head. Nise, who had stood up at some point, had caught me.

"Please, step back for a moment."

He roughly wiped away the remaining tears soaking his face and stepped in front of me.

For some reason, his previous weakness seemed to have completely vanished from his figure.

No, rather, I felt something that overwhelmed his surroundings.

"You filthy, evil thing! You ended up devouring your own sister to survive!"

The Pope, who was shouting at Nise, frantically looked around.

And he hastily snatched up his staff, which was rolling around nearby.

'That brat Elaine. You should have taken care of it cleanly to the end.'

Of course, Elaine probably couldn't help it.

Even if she was invisible, she couldn't just steal the staff and smuggle it out with this many people watching.

But seeing Nise and the Pope facing off, I was overcome with anxiety and naturally started cursing Elaine.

I could use a skill if it came down to it, but my MP bar wasn't in great shape.

I didn't know the Pope's true power, so I couldn't guarantee I could take him out with the barely 20 I had left.

'What on earth is Nise planning to do?'

As I watched Nise with worried eyes, the Pope finally raised the staff he had picked up.

"This time, I will strike you down and prove the Goddess's existence and her power!"

The bastard shouted quite sternly.

At that, a faint light began to seep from the crystal orb at the end of the staff.

But Nise, whatever he was thinking, didn't seem particularly scared.

His hair was disheveled.

Wrapped in my skirt scrap below his chest, clutching the silver wooden doll tightly...

I'm sorry, but he honestly looked like a madman.

"The humble servant of God conveys the Goddess's command."

But when he finally opened his mouth.

I learned for the first time that a person could look holy even with the appearance of a madman.

"Evil that disrupts the world has run rampant. Hunt the sinful serpents, color this land with the light of peace, and protect it for eternity."

Around the time his chant stopped.

An unknown holy power pours out from the Lv.999 Doll Imbued with Saintess Liv's Soul.

Along with the suddenly appearing system window, an explosive light burst from the doll Nise was holding.

"Wh-what... Nngh, it's bright!"

The light engulfed the entire arena in an instant, like a flashbang.

The Pope and the temple humans, as well as everyone else, all cried out, covering their eyes.

It was the same for me.

My eyes stung as if I'd go blind, and I reflexively raised my arm to cover them.

Paaat!

Fortunately, the light surrounding the arena didn't last long and vanished as if washed away.

"What was...?"

I lowered my arm and looked around, bewildered.

The arena hadn't changed at all.

The people were all fine, and the sinful bastards like the Pope had lowered their arms and were standing around, bewildered.

"Wh-what was that just now..."

"Why, why did the light..."

Just as everyone was looking around, not understanding what had happened.

"L-look over there!"

It started with the eyeball monster.

Ssssssk...

The eyeball monster, which had been sprawled out, grotesquely hacked up by Kassel, began to rapidly crumble away like dust.

[An unknown holy power has defeated the Lv.??? Unidentifiable Wicked Dregs.]

At the same time, a system window popped up.

As I stared at it blankly, a sharp voice suddenly pierced my ears.

"What... N-no! The Goddess's h-holy relic...!"

The long staff the Pope was holding was also crumbling, just like the eyeball monster.

Starting with that, the stunned priests and holy knights.

And then, all the holy relics belonging to anyone associated with the temple, including the Pope and the conscious bastards, all began to turn to black dust and disappear.

[An unknown holy power has destroyed the Corrupted Staff.]

[An unknown holy power has destroyed the Corrupted Binding Rope.]

[An unknown holy power has destroyed the Corrupted Armor].

I couldn't keep my wits about me with the system windows popping up nonstop.

But that was only the beginning.

Following the items, holy relics, clothes, hats, all disappearing indiscriminately, the ominous phenomenon began to affect people as well.

"Gh-Uwaaaaaaak!"

The Pope suddenly let out a huge scream.

I hurriedly looked over. The bastard had suddenly clutched his forehead with both hands and was in extreme agony.

Tssssss...

White smoke billowed out from between his hands.

Not only that, but both his hands, which the smoke had touched, were turning black.

As if they were corrupted.

"Gh-ghhh... I-it hurts...!"

The moment the Pope finally groaned and lowered his blackened hands.

Everyone could see the snake-shaped brand clearly settled in the middle of his forehead.

[An unknown holy power has left the Mark of the Forsaken on the Corrupted Pope Chelvinoto.]

Simultaneously with the newly appeared system window, someone shouted.

"Th-that's... the brand that appears on sinners who have incurred the Goddess's wrath...!"

"I-it's divine punishment!"