Chapter 104: Bernoa’s Memory Part 2

Eldakrad firmly rejected Bernoa’s confession.

For the first time since becoming a saintess, she felt the sting of rejection.

“That… that can’t be.”

“I’m sorry.”

Bernoa was dejected for a while.

However, she knew she couldn’t remain like this.

She still loved Eldakrad.

If she couldn’t be his wife, if she couldn’t be by his side as his partner… Then she would simply stay near him.

That alone would be enough.

From then on, she maintained a certain distance while remaining one of his closest aides.

After all, a saintess shouldn’t get too close to a man who already had a fiancée.

***

Eldakrad reorganized the Ashtar army and devised a new plan.

“I intend to take the fight directly to the Demon King’s forces.”

“The Demon King’s forces, sir?”

“As humanity’s power grows, the Demon King’s army has always tried to hinder us. Right now, the most rapidly rising force in this era is none other than the Ashtar family.”

“So you mean to strike first.”

“Exactly. The Four Heavenly Kings are silent for now, which makes this the perfect opportunity. We need to begin purging the demons within the Demon King’s domain.”

It was truly a bold plan, fitting for a hero.

Some called Eldakrad arrogant, but if anyone had the right to be, it was him.

After all, if not now, when would humanity ever have another chance to attack the Demon King’s lands?

Thus, the Ashtar army marched into the Demon King’s domain.

“You’re quite formidable… for a human.”

There, waiting for them, was Seto.

The Ashtar forces clashed head-on with Seto’s army.

Eldakrad’s troops achieved victory after victory against Seto’s gargoyle army and demonic legions.

Even Seto himself couldn’t hold back Eldakrad.

However, as the war dragged on, Eldakrad finally halted his advance.

“Have we pushed far enough?”

“Aren’t you going to finish off Seto?”

“If we continue, fatigue will overtake us, no matter how strong we are. Besides, we’ve already established an Ashtar stronghold within the Demon King’s domain. We can leave the rest to the next hero.”

The war had been relentless.

Even an undefeated army would suffer from accumulated exhaustion.

Moreover, with so many supplies redirected to the war effort, the Ashtar lands were at risk of food shortages.

Although the kingdom could provide aid, Eldakrad refused to rely on them.

Bernoa wanted to help.

“Lord Eldakrad, if I speak with the kingdom, they will provide support.”

“If necessary, the kingdom would undoubtedly assist Eldakrad to minimize its own losses.”

“No. Didn’t I already say? The soldiers are exhausted. And we’ve advanced too deeply. This is an uninhabited land for humans. If we push further, we might encounter hidden enemies and suffer unnecessary losses.”

“…I see.”

Bernoa couldn’t help but wonder—was this just another way for him to push her away?

Feeling a pang of sadness, she stepped out of the command tent.

“Saintess, the lord has ordered preparations for retreat.”

The news of Ashtar’s withdrawal had come.

As she packed her belongings, ready to depart, something unexpected happened.

Someone knocked her unconscious.

***

When she came to, she was no longer in the Ashtar camp.

It wasn’t a military tent.

Instead, she found herself inside a dark, ominous, and damp building.

The gray stone walls loomed over her.

The massive structure resembled a fortress.

“You’re awake.”

“You… Seto!”

Eldakrad was nowhere in sight.

Instead, the one standing beside her was Seto.

Bernoa tried to summon a miracle, but Seto easily blocked her.

“Heh. Eldakrad might have been a challenge, but do you really think a mere saintess—who can do nothing more than purify minor demons—could stand a chance against me?”

“Urgh…!”

It was frustrating, but he was right.

A saintess alone was no match for one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

Yet, strangely enough, Seto didn’t seem to have any intention of killing her.

There was no malice in his demeanor.

“Don’t worry. I have no plans to kill you.”

“Then what do you want?”

There was no point in begging for her life.

Her best bet was to watch for an opening—either to strike or to escape.

But first, she needed to figure out what he was after.

“Tell me, how does it feel to be betrayed by Eldakrad?”

“Betrayed? What are you talking about?”

‘What nonsense was he trying to spout?’

‘Was this some kind of cheap attempt to manipulate her?’

“Exactly what I said. You whispered words of love to him, but in the end, he abandoned you.”

“He didn’t abandon me! I was the one who approached him! It was my fault… I was foolish. He already had a fiancée, and yet I— I shamelessly intruded.”

She had no right to blame him.

She told herself that over and over again.

After all, she had never truly chosen the path of a saintess.

If she hadn’t accepted it, the high-ranking clergy would have used her however they pleased—or worse, sold her off to someone powerful.

She was an unworthy saintess.

A disgraceful woman who confessed her feelings to a man with a fiancée and even asked him to break things off.

“Heh. Do you think a woman could cling to a man if he didn’t allow it?”

“…!!”

“Just as women are sensitive to men’s gazes, men also have instincts. Do you really believe Eldakrad was oblivious to your feelings until you confessed?”

That was impossible.

Eldakrad wasn’t the type to toy with someone’s emotions.

“No… That can’t be true.”

“Even if he didn’t know at first, isn’t it suspicious that a man with a fiancée kept another woman so close?”

“That’s…”

She couldn’t respond.

She wanted to defend Eldakrad, but for the first time, she doubted his kindness.

“You were simply cast aside. You poor, pathetic thing.”

Thud.

The words hit her like a hammer to the chest.

“Shut up! No! No!”

“Do you think I’m just making things up? If you think logically, it’s obvious.”

No. She must not listen.

It was nothing more than the deceptive voice of a demon.

Trash. A voice trying to drag her into the darkness as well.

His words were not even worth considering.

She had only one thing to believe in—Eldakrad.

“Lord Eldakrad would never use me.”

She responded with fierce conviction.

“No, he did use you. Like I said, he already had a fiancée, yet he kept a saintess—a woman—by his side. You were nothing more than a tool for his convenience.”

“No. That couldn’t be true.”

Bernoa shook her head.

“No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!”

“Hey. That lord of yours—who completely disregarded your devoted love—is he really your lord?”

“What nonsense are you spouting now?”

‘Did he mean to imply that Eldakrad was a fake?’

“Think about it. Weren’t you just searching for someone—anyone—to rely on? Someone who would love you? And did Eldakrad ever truly fulfill that desire?”

Bernoa couldn’t answer.

Since childhood, she had longed for love.

She had believed that Eldakrad would be the one to give it to her.

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t real.

Even if he did not give her love, even if he had used her, that alone did not make him a fake.

“That man is an imposter. If he were real, knowing everything about your past, he wouldn’t have cast you aside so cruelly. The real one wouldn’t have done that.”

Eldakrad knew exactly what kind of life she had lived.

She had told him herself.

At some point, Bernoa’s thoughts became clouded.

For some reason, her mind had felt hazy for a while now.

“This is ridiculous… Then where is the real lord?”

“Right there in front of you.”

Seto grabbed Bernoa’s head and turned it toward the side.

In front of her?

The place Seto pointed to was filled with a dark, murky mass that seemed to waver ominously.

‘What… What was that?’

A deep abyss of darkness.

A darkness so vast and endless, as if it had swallowed up the whole world, slowly creeping closer.

“What… What is that?”

She instinctively recoiled, stepping backward, but Seto simply gestured toward the abyss as if he knew exactly what it was.

“The one who truly loves you, the one who will become your everything, the one who will be your light—your real lord. The Demon King.”

“That’s… impossible. No… No way.”

She must not look at it.

Her instincts screamed at her.

But human instincts were futile in the face of such a sight.

If such an entity—if the Demon King himself—stood before her, how could she not at least look?

No, that was just an excuse.

‘The real lord.’

‘The one who will love me.’

Perhaps, for just a moment, she was tempted by those words.

After all, she was not a righteous person.

She had not become a saintess by choice.

And she had always been willing to do anything for Eldakrad.

She should ignore it.

She had to ignore it.

But the abyss slowly began to eat away at her heart.

***

A sharp ringing noise echoed.

Rosaria, the holy relic said to be imbued with the will of the goddess, trembled violently.

The light within it resisted the abyss.

For a brief moment, Bernoa clenched the cross in her hand.

Instead of looking toward the light, she chose to gaze into the darkness.

‘Just once. Only once.’

She would look just once, deceive Seto, and then kill them both.

And so, she looked into the abyss that engulfed her.

There, she saw him.

The ‘real lord.’

“My beloved Bernoa.”

No. That wasn’t Eldakrad.

Now that she thought about it, this was all wrong.

She had to block her ears.

At first, she resisted.

That was the Demon King.

Seto had said it himself.

That was the Demon King.

Yes. She had to defeat it, no matter what.

But the Demon King continued to whisper sweetly.

“You have suffered so much. Please, from now on, stand by my side and fight with me.”

“No… You… You are not my lord!”

She had to block her ears.

She was different from those fools who were swayed by temptation.

“Or do you truly believe that the man who refused to embrace you, who kept his distance, was your real lord?”

“This… This is just an incubus’s deception!”

A saintess should not fall for something like this.

“Does it really seem that way? The one who ignored you, who only used you when he needed you—was that truly your lord?”

“That…”

“I am your true lord. The real one.”

The abyss, which had once been a formless mass, had now taken full shape.

And it was—Eldakrad.

Eldakrad, whispering words of love.

“Look at me. Look at my love for you. I will grant you anything you desire. Unlike that man, who would not even take you as a concubine, will you follow me, the one who truly desires you?”

Gulp.

She must not follow.

She must not…

But why?

What was the reason she shouldn’t?

He had said he would love her.

Not as Saintess Bernoa, but as a woman.

She could betray humanity if it was for the one she loved.

Even if her lord was the Demon King, she could follow him.

If he asked her to kill, she would.

If he asked her to bring him a human heart, she would.

Then… wasn’t that enough?