Tick—tick—
Water dripped from the stalactites above the stone cave, the ethereal sound awakening Aelia, who had been unconscious nearby.
“Mm—”
With a faint whimper, she struggled to open her eyes.
The ore embedded in the cavern walls emitted a faint glow, and using that little light, Aelia made out her surroundings, realizing that Isavel had thrown her into the Monster Catacomb.
“Roar—!”
Before she could form any thoughts, a monstrous roar echoed from nearby.
Her face turned pale, and she hastily grabbed the Iron Sword beside her, running in the opposite direction of the sound.
At the same time, eerie rustling noises kept coming from the darkness, sending chills down her spine.
She didn’t know how long she had been running, gasping for breath, sweat soaking her back. Perhaps from exhaustion, her legs gave out, and she fell heavily to the ground.
Propping herself up, she stared at her hands, which had been scraped raw.
In that moment, the fear of death and overwhelming grief surged in her heart, and she couldn’t hold back her tears any longer.
She couldn’t understand why, simply because she couldn’t bring herself to strike the monsters, she was being punished so cruelly.
Was the mistake hers, or was it that Saintess?
Just as she wept, hurried footsteps approached from around the corner. She wiped her tears frantically, biting her lip as she picked up the sword she’d dropped.
But the figure before her was not a monster—it was a silver-haired girl.
Dressed in a pure white gown, the girl’s golden eyes filled with deep pity the moment she saw Aelia.
She knelt without hesitation despite the filthy ground soiling her white dress, then pulled Aelia into her arms.
Gently stroking her back, the girl whispered in her ear:
“It’s okay now, Aelia, I’ve found you.”
Like a beam of light piercing the darkness and illuminating Aelia’s heart, the despair instantly lifted, replaced by a warm and tender feeling.
Dropping the sword, Aelia buried her head in the girl’s embrace, sobbing, “I’m sorry, I can’t do it, I…I can’t bring myself to strike…”
Hearing this, the girl closed her eyes and pressed close to Aelia’s cheek, speaking softly:
“Why apologize? You can’t take their lives because deep in your soul there is the most precious kindness. That kindness is never wrong.”
“The fault lies with us, with this terrible world. The burden of saving it was placed on your shoulders too soon, without giving you the time to slowly grow stronger.”
Aelia clutched the girl’s hands tighter.
“But, but… the Saintess said I would bring ruin to everyone…”
“That’s not your fault. If someday someone truly gets hurt because of your kindness, then that’s my fault and Isavel’s fault—we failed to teach you how to protect yourself and your comrades while safeguarding your kindness.”
“Re-really?”
“Of course. And since Isavel is the Saintess, and I am one too, do you only believe her?”
Leaving the girl’s embrace, Aelia wiped her eyes and finally let out a soft laugh.
Seeing her mood steadily improve, the girl sighed gently, her gaze growing even more tender.
Selis was the girl’s name and also Isavel’s other identity.
Since the goddess gave her two paths, she couldn’t rely on just one identity. After much thought, she created Selis.
Both were Empire Saintesses, but unlike Isavel, Selis brought the Rose Knights love and hope.
Without her, these young knights wouldn’t have survived Isavel’s hands.
Extending her hand toward Aelia, Selis said quietly:
“Come, I’ll take you out of here. There’s a shortcut that leads right outside the catacomb. As long as nothing unexpected happens, we won’t encounter any monsters along the way.”
“Okay!”
At this moment, Aelia trusted her completely, so without hesitation, she took her hand and followed her down the narrow path.
Along the way, they indeed didn’t encounter any monsters. But before long, Selis grew exhausted, and Aelia had no choice but to sit with her on a stone to rest.
Leaning her head on Selis’s shoulder, Aelia murmured absentmindedly:
“Lady Selis, when I first met you, I thought you’d be as strict with us as Lady Isavel.”
“She’s herself, and I’m me. How could we be the same?”
“Why can’t you be the one guiding our Rose Knights’ growth? If it were you, maybe we wouldn’t have suffered so much.”
“Because, maybe I’m useless.”
At that, Selis lowered her head, her golden eyes dimming. Aelia turned her head in surprise.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“N-nothing.”
“Is that so?”
Suddenly gripping Selis’s hand tightly, Aelia stared into her eyes with worry. After a long silence, Selis finally spoke in a slightly hoarse voice:
“Many years ago, I was also in a place as dark as this one. The hand that held mine was my Mother, who raised me. She always whispered in my ear that she would protect me.”
“But then they came. She hid me behind a rock, telling me not to come out, but she charged forward herself… Through a crack, I saw her chest pierced by claws.”
“As she fell, she weakly put her index finger to her lips, silently signaling me to be quiet… I thought if only I had a bit of Magic talent, maybe she wouldn’t have died.”
“But I couldn’t do anything.”
Her silver hair fell, hiding her expression. Aelia said nothing, only lowering her head to silently share the burden of guilt and regret radiating from the girl beside her.
Looking down at her own hands, Selis continued in a whisper:
“I was born without any affinity for Magic. No matter how hard I tried, I could only train to be as strong as an ordinary person. So, even if I gave everything, I couldn’t protect anyone from monsters.”
“Every time I remember her dying, I hate myself—why I have no talent, why I don’t even have the strength to lift an Iron Sword…”
Tick—
Hot tears slipped from the girl’s eyes, dropping onto the back of Aelia’s hand. She hugged the sword she’d set aside, unsure how to comfort her.
“Lady Selis…”
She had never imagined that Selis, a Saintess, had such a tragic past, nor that she was a fragile girl who couldn’t even lift an Iron Sword.
After all, in her eyes, the Monster Catacomb was an extremely dangerous place. Ordinary people dared not enter, let alone seasoned warriors.
Yet Selis had charged in just to save her.
Luckily, there were no monsters along this path.
“Roar—!”
Just as Aelia’s eyes reddened, her heart full of emotion, a monster’s roar came from behind on the path.
A hungry Wolf, its bloodshot eyes blazing, suddenly burst out from the darkness!
Fear instantly gripped her whole body, draining the color from her face.
Without a second thought, Selis grabbed Aelia and stood up, then by pure instinct, shielded her behind herself, her frail body blocking the monster’s advance.
At the same time, she shouted at Aelia, her voice raw with urgency and filled with pure pleading:
“Monster! Hurry! Aelia, you run first!”
Overcome by fear, the girl lost all reason. Instinctively clutching her sword, she fled down the path without looking back, her steps faltering.
Selis, like a mother protecting her child, smiled gently at that retreating figure.
Then she turned to face the charging monster, drawing a slender, perfectly balanced sword using a simple magic spell.
She hoped that by the time she was overpowered, Aelia would have run far enough.
……
After running for an unknown length of time, Aelia panted, slowly regaining her composure.
Once the fear subsided somewhat, she slumped against the stone wall, unable to believe what she had done.
She had abandoned Saintess Selis, fleeing alone!
Th-this…
Her face flushed red with shame.
But whenever she thought of the terrifying monster, she dismissed the idea of going back to save Selis.
As a Saintess, shouldn’t she have been able to handle that kind of monster?
This was the Hecate Monster Dungeon, and the monsters here were the weakest of all…
Reassuring herself again and again, Aelia slowly buried her head between her knees.
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