Chapter 24: Something that can never be compromised (7)

First, I decided to protect as many heroines as possible for the future and the unknown second hero.

With that resolve, I left the makeshift clinic, parted ways with the nun who asked me to pray for her someday, and started traveling with the hero.

To think he wants to talk to the Red Tail Tribe.

That’s not a recommendation I’d give to anyone else.

Even though I didn’t participate in the battle, I’d heard enough to know about the strength and ferocity of Thunder Who Runs.

Nevertheless, the hero walks forward without hesitation, with confidence in every step.

Well, he’s so strong; what would he fear in this world? Perhaps courage inherently requires strength.

In any case, the hero’s intent to talk to the Red Tail Tribe—especially Thunder Who Runs—was not something the soldiers would welcome.

It’s obvious that relying on nothing but a torch in a dark place like this, while exposing yourself to the possibility of unforeseen risks, would be stressful.

“Um… So, you want to meet the enemy chief?”

“Yes, and if possible, I’d like to learn how to break the seal on the special zone.”

The soldiers scratched their heads awkwardly as we entered.

“Don’t worry about it! If it’s inappropriate, I’ll give up immediately!”

“Well… If the saintess herself says so…”

Madness. I only meant to ease their burden and hoped they’d just chase us out, but now the hero was actually going to meet Thunder Who Runs.

“Please just sign your name here.”

“Thank you.”

The soldier rummaged through a pile of papers and eventually pulled out a form.

It was just a simple registration process. Judging by the lack of questions, it seemed they genuinely intended to let us through.

With a creaking sound, the rusted iron door opened.

It sounded like a ghost might pop out at any moment.

In horror movies, this is always the point where the reckless leader gets taken out first. I wondered what would happen to the hero.

Although, I do agree with the plan to figure out how to break the seal.

Currently, the special zone where the source of mana resides is sealed by shamans.

Entering is impossible, and even observing what’s inside is out of the question.

The most troubling part is that the seal, completed with the shamans’ lives, contains lingering thoughts, making it impossible to break with ordinary methods.

Even Laura said it would take at least a month to undo, giving a sense of how complicated it would be.

The kingdom’s army suspected that the illusions they first encountered were also the result of a shaman’s sacrifice.

If true, the Red Tail Tribe must have been prepared to risk everything.

The phrase “a resolve to stake one’s life” seemed out of place for the hero’s party.

After all, everyone in the group is a cheat character.

Their talents are things ordinary people could never achieve in their lifetimes.

Looking at it from the perspective of my past life, such people have a singular mindset: a confidence born of their strength, a belief they will always win.

Sometimes, I wonder if that can even be called courage.

“Here we are.”

“…So, I did smell the stink of humans. And look who it is—some coward who didn’t even fight?”

Following the soldier’s guidance, we reached the deepest part of the prison.

There, restrained tightly by magical equipment, Thunder Who Runs glared at us.

“Pleased to meet you. I’m the hero, Kim Suhyun.”

“Oh! And I’m Sera…”

The hero gestured to the soldier to leave and took a seat. Under Thunder Who Runs’ intense gaze, I hastily introduced myself and sat down.

“I saw what happened at the sanctuary. I think it was a tragic event.”

“Heh, tragic? Is that why you didn’t fight? Out of some pitiful sympathy?”

I could hear the sound of rough breathing. The bulging muscles and bloodshot eyes of Thunder Who Runs made it clear he was holding back his anger.

This wasn’t looking good. Far from forming a bond with the hero, this looked like it might erupt into a fight any moment now.

“…Given the direct hostility you’ve shown toward the kingdom, do you think the tribe members in the sanctuary will remain safe?”

“Get to the point. Dragging this out doesn’t suit me.”

The Red Tail Tribe had shown direct hostility toward the kingdom—a significant one at that.

You can’t undo what’s already been done.

If they had been perceived as a negligible threat before, they were now seen as a direct danger.

In that sense, the tribespeople remaining in the sanctuary were lucky.

If the power imbalance weren’t so great, the kingdom’s army would have undoubtedly used the lives of the ordinary tribespeople as bargaining chips.

But even with the fortress retaken and the Red Tail Tribe defeated, the future for the remaining tribespeople wasn’t bright.

They were the losers. They would inevitably have to bear the consequences, and it was clear they wouldn’t be able to handle them.

“Please tell us how to undo the seal. In return, I’ll persuade the kingdom to ensure the remaining tribespeople won’t be harmed.”

It could take Laura at least a month, possibly longer, to unravel the seal.

With terrible luck, we might never find a way to break it at all. That’s how strong the lingering thoughts within the seal were.

I’m confident Laura will make progress within a month, but from the kingdom’s perspective, it’s better to eliminate uncertain variables.

And as part of the hero’s party, we might be able to guarantee the remaining tribespeople a better life.

“Ha! What nonsense. Who are you going to convince? Not a chance!”

“…This is the only way to save your tribe! You need to think about the future!”

Under the flickering torchlight, Thunder Who Runs burst into mad laughter, cutting off the hero’s words before he could finish.

“The future? I’m doing this because I’m thinking about the future!”

Despite the chains connecting him to the wall and his restraints, Thunder Who Runs strained toward the iron bars.

He looked like a berserk warrior who’d lost his mind. It felt dangerous—my instincts were screaming at me.

The heavy atmosphere in the dim prison, the sticky air.

It was the same feeling as when I met that black-haired man in the capital.

It pressed on my chest, making it hard to breathe.

“You, those humans, and that wretched god! I’ll kill you all!!”

Minutes later, the sight of the surrounding space shaking violently felt like watching a black-and-white film with no color.

How much effort I put into moving my unresponsive body, it refused to budge.

Clutching my chest in agony, I witnessed the hero writhing in pain.

A moment passed, fleeting yet eternal, and suddenly I couldn’t feel my limbs, as if they’d vanished entirely.

“Ugh… Wh-what is this…?”

There were no visible injuries, but my chest burned as if aflame, suffocating me under an invisible weight, like a massive stone pressing down.

Meanwhile, the warriors of the Red Tail Tribe began to transform.

Their red fur morphed into reptilian scales, and their proud wolf-like ears twisted into goat-like horns.

Their bodies distorted into monstrous forms, barely recognizable as beastmen.

They had embraced demonic energy into their very beings.

“They detonated a part of the demonic energy the Demon King held. You won’t be able to use that vaunted divine blessing of yours for a while.”

“…Demon King?”

“Yes, the Demon King. He corrupted the very source of mana. From this day forward, our Red Tail Tribe joins the demonkin!”

Madness. Joining forces with the demonkin to invade a fortress might be understandable, but summoning the Demon King? What lunacy! Damn it, this bastard had no limits.

The Demon King is meant to be defeated by the second hero, once they’ve grown strong enough.

The first hero barely triumphed through unconventional means, and even if he were to enslave the Demon King, there’d be no hope left for me.

What kind of saint drives a hero into a bad ending? At this rate, I’m heading straight for a life-ending scenario myself.

“Oh Eternal Guide, please protect your followers striving to emulate your ways, and let no harm come to them…”

By the time I regained my senses, the restraints binding the Charging Thunder had all been broken.

He struck the iron bars of the cage with a massive fist, aiming to shatter them.

I couldn’t stay idle. If he broke free, that lunatic would wreak havoc.

Desperately, I recited prayers for a protective barrier, but no matter how much I prayed, there wasn’t the faintest hint of divine power.

Why? Until now, reciting prayers was enough to feel divine energy without effort.

But now, it was completely absent.

If Charging Thunder’s words were true, and the divine blessings had ceased to function… Then I was nothing more than an ordinary girl trapped with a fully demonized warrior.

For the first time, I didn’t need a mirror to know what I looked like: a face drained of all hope.

“It’s over.”

Even without a weapon, my frail body wouldn’t survive a single blow from that massive fist.

My limbs were still numb, and my body felt as heavy as lead.

I knew I should flee, but my body refused to move.

Closing my eyes tightly was the only option left to me.

And in the absence of divine blessings, the cheat ability I’d relied on for survival, I found myself truly vulnerable for the first time.

As I stood at the edge of despair, ironical as it was, what appeared before me was the hero’s hand.

With a painful groan, he asked, “Are you okay?” as he lifted me into his arms and began running out of the underground prison.

“Chase them! We cannot let the hero survive!”

Around us, the Red Tail Tribe warriors, now demonized, and soldiers felled by the explosion of demonic energy painted a grim tableau.

The soldiers who still clung to consciousness fled the scene, while some of the warriors had already escaped the prison, armed with weapons looted from the fallen.

By sheer luck, the hero narrowly dodged each attack.

But there was no hope.

That fact struck me with overwhelming clarity when we reached the top of the fortress wall.

The sky, dyed in deep crimson and black, and the distorted space around us spoke volumes.

The demonic energy emanating from the corrupted source of mana was transforming the Kaputa Plateau into a replica of the Demon Realm.

“Surrender. There’s no hope for you.”

There was no escape route. Behind us lay a river far below, its depths unknown. Though I briefly entertained the thought that the hero might be fine, he too seemed on the brink, struggling to breathe.

Why wasn’t this going as I’d envisioned? The Red Tail Tribe was supposed to cooperate with humans, weren’t they? This was supposed to be the world from the game I knew, yet everything had changed so drastically.

With divine blessings no longer active and my body ruined from the explosion of demonic energy, there seemed to be no hope left.

At that moment, the hero began to move.

“I’m sorry. It seems this is as far as I go.”

Amidst the crushing pressure of demonic energy, the hero gently set me down, his voice heavy with regret.

Drawing the lone sword at his waist, he faced the overwhelming threat before us without hesitation.

How could he move so confidently? Without divine blessings, what could he possibly achieve?

Honestly, the hero dying here might be for the best.

Many people must still be striving to defend the fortress, and perhaps, miraculously, they could be rescued.

The future I had envisioned from the capital had been utterly upended, almost as if it had been a lie.

Maybe the misfortunes I predicted could change as well. It was almost too much to believe.

After all, being a saintess… that role never suited me.

This trembling, fear-ridden figure, paralyzed with terror, was far more fitting for someone ordinary like me.

Even the sacred flames I’d ignited in the capital—without the cheat abilities, I wouldn’t have even dared.

Yet, why couldn’t I stop thinking about the fleeting warmth of the hero’s touch, his trembling hands?

Whether it was the game’s storyline or the necessity of the hero’s death for my salvation, I decided to push those thoughts aside for now.

Because in the moment when the divine blessings vanished, and he carried me, the hero’s hands were trembling.

Ironically, seeing the hero frightened for the first time made me think, perhaps, he might actually be a good person.

No, no, that’s not it. My heart pounding this loudly, my wish for the hero not to die—it must be the work of hypnosis.

Yes, hypnosis.

With the fortress saturated in demonic energy, it wouldn’t be strange for the Mesmerizing Eyes that react to demonic stones to have grown stronger.

“S-Sera? What are you doing…?!”

“Damn it… You bastard, this is all your fault!”

That’s why grabbing the hero’s hand and leaping off the wall’s edge into the river below, betting everything on the slim chance of survival for both of us—it must all be the hypnosis.

It couldn’t have been my own will.