I Can Hear the Saint’s Inner Thoughts

87 – Idea (2)

* * *

“…Ashtal’s amazing, as always.”

That was Victoria’s short impression after seeing the magic Ashtal had devised to defeat the Dullahan, Idea.

What kind of thoughts does this man usually have, to be able to conceive such magnificent and beautiful magic?

Ashtal Kaisaros was always like this.

A magician who never loses hope even in the demon realm swarming with monsters and demons, and delivers victory to his comrades.

“That might actually work. Anyone can see Ashtal’s betting everything on this one.”

The hero Kyle also added a word, watching the sight of countless magic circles intertwined like threads to form a single sphere.

To abandon the prejudice that magic circles must maintain their original form, and to unravel them like threads and reconstruct them in three dimensions – Ashtal’s the only crazy b*stard in this world who’d come up with that.

“Surely, Kyle, you don’t mistrust Ashtal, do you? Disappointing. Is that all men’s trust amounts to?”

Victoria pouted, dissatisfied at Kyle. Normally, he’d be cheering on Ashtal with a louder voice than anyone, but she could see him trembling slightly.

“It can’t be helped. I’m a hero, so I can hear the vengeful spirits of those sacrificed to the Dullahan’s Holy Sword.”

“…Huh? Is that true?”

“Yeah, apparently that b*stard even killed his own kid.”

Kyle, going so far as to curse – something he never usually did – was telling his comrades the information he’d gathered so far.

The horrific truth that the Dullahan, in order to express his willingness to surrender to the Demon King, had killed not only his comrades at the time, but even the child between him and the saintess.

“…An irredeemable piece of garbage. The fact that that guy’s the first hero makes me want to puke.”

Unexpectedly, the first to express anger after hearing Hero Kyle’s story was Tarion, the one known as the Divine Archer.

As if suppressing the urge to aim his bowstring at the Dullahan immediately, thick veins stood out on the back of his hand.

Tarion’s wish was to catch the Demon King, then return to his hometown with his lover, Anima, have children and live happily.

“Why the hell did those so-called gods pick *that* guy as the Hero! Kyle was good enough!”

“I can’t believe it. How could he do something so horrible…? Why…?”

Anima and Victoria showed all sorts of reactions after hearing Kyle’s story. Some were enraged, while others were terrified, their vision swimming.

She didn’t want to believe it. It was a story that didn’t make any sense. Was *this* why the celestial Lumina forbade the Saintess from having contact with men?

Victoria closed her eyes immediately to resolve the question, putting all her strength into the hands that were clasped together, as she had been doing to pray for Astal’s victory.

– Mother, did you know this from the beginning, which is why you set limits on my and Astal’s physical relationship?

And Victoria, barely calming her trembling heart, began to pray to the celestial Lumina, whom she believed in.

The being who had shown a strange behavior, neither blocking nor supporting her relationship with Astal.

– Yes, otherwise, the tragedy would be repeated. I didn’t want to see such a horrible sight ever again.

Only then did the celestial Lumina reveal the truth to Victoria, speaking about the past in a calm voice.

– Then shouldn’t you have told me! Even so, aren’t I like a daughter to you!

Victoria felt betrayal for the first time from the celestial.

If such a bleak reason was hidden, then there was no need to put the condition that the Saintess would become an ordinary person if she had a relationship with a man.

– It’s because I cherish you so much, Victoria, that I didn’t tell you. From the beginning, there was also a reason to protect you from the garbage of the Holy Kingdom.

However, the celestial Lumina continued to speak in a voice filled with sorrow. If she hadn’t put such conditions, there wouldn’t have been minimal safety measures to protect the Saintesses throughout history.

In the past, there were also times when the Popes and Holy Knights of the Holy Kingdom of Aurelium looked at them with lecherous eyes, or kept trying to touch them. That was why she made that judgment.

– And originally, the first Hero, Ziegheart, was also as good a guy as you could compare to Astal. He always threw himself to save people, a Hero who shouted for hope, unlike some people.

Crack─.

The moment she heard that story, Victoria felt something break inside her.

“It’s a lie. It’s a fabrication. It’s an outrage. There’s no way that piece of trash could resemble Astal-nim…!”

Victoria couldn’t contain her rage, the words she’d been thinking erupting from her mouth. How could any part of that b*stard possibly resemble the man she loved?

The Dullahan had killed Astal’s parents in a cruel way, deliberately provoking him to fight, even defying the Demon Lord’s orders to do so.

And to top it off, he didn’t just kill the first Saintess, his lover and the hero, but committed the horrific act of killing the child between them.

“The man I love would never hurt or wound me…!”

They’re absolutely not the same.

What part of him do you see as similar?

Victoria poured out her emotions, fueled by all her bottled-up resentment and grief. If she hadn’t been born a Saintess, she wouldn’t have met Astal, but at least she wouldn’t have had to suffer the frustration of not being able to properly convey her feelings.

“Victoria-nim…”

“Yeah, no matter what, I don’t think that’s right.”

Seeing Victoria even shedding tears, her surrounding comrades empathized with her words.

“Hey, watch your mouth, lady. If Astal sees you making Victoria cry…. He’ll punch you out, God or not, I’m telling you.”

Even Kyle, the Hero, had his hand on the hilt of his holy sword, directing hostility towards the Celestial who had insulted his friend.

The man named Astal Kaisaroth, whom they’d seen for the past year, was sometimes emotional and impulsive, and he did tend to recklessly throw himself into harm’s way to save people.

But his comrades knew that he was a kind and innocent hero, more than anyone else.

-Daughter, the Demon Lord Ergosum is not as easy an opponent as you think. Are you still going to go, knowing that no previous Hero party has ever survived?

“But, if Astal-nim is there, it will definitely be different. He’s not just the man I love, but also the strongest mage on the continent.”

-The first Hero party surely left with that same hope. Saying that they could kill the Demon Lord, that they could bring peace to this world.

The Celestial Lumina sighed deeply, recalling those days. Even the Gods hadn’t doubted the subjugation of the Demon Lord Ergosum, which was why they had given the first Hero, Zeghart, runic letters and weapons from mythology.

Heroes who slashed down powerful monsters and demons, saving kidnapped people, and singing of hope to the world.

But,

– But the moment Sieghardt saw the Demon Lord Ergosum, he lost his mind and went insane. It wasn’t a mental attack, or magic, or anything like that.

– …….

– It was simply that the instinctive realization of “I can’t win” consumed his reason. And after that… well, as you all know, he committed that awful act.

Even that hope was useless before the Demon Lord Ergosum. More like an unnamed god than the head of evil, his very presence made those who beheld him lose their will to fight.

– Victoria, I’ve watched the same things happen countless times as I’ve sent off saintesses throughout history. Sometimes I gave harsher restrictions, other times I let them be free, but the results were similar. This is the best I can do.

“But, perhaps we could be different.”

– Even though the most powerful-minded heroes, the highest-level mages, would either kill themselves or try to gruesomely murder their lovers or comrades in front of the Demon Lord Ergosum?

Celestial Lumina still couldn’t fully trust Astar.

Because of this, the next best thing she could think of was to make Victoria a normal woman if she was going to have a child anyway, and remove her from the front lines.

– Victoria, you really do love this man Astar.

“Yes, I love him so much that I feel like I can’t live without him anymore.”

– If that’s the case, I’ll allow you to have a slightly deeper relationship. But, just in case, I want you to wait until after you kill the Demon Lord before trying to have a child.

As Victoria listened to the Celestial’s story, a good idea occurred to her.

If the problem is that losing her purity will turn her into an ordinary woman, then what if that wasn’t a problem at all?

If Astar really did succeed in creating the magic to kill the Demon Lord Ergosum…

‘…I can ignore such troublesome conditions.’

Reaching that conclusion, Victoria looked at Astar and clenched her fists as if she had made a decision.

The goal ahead and the bait for it were now firmly in place.

* * *

Right now, blood’s pouring from my eyes, nose, and mouth, a side effect of yanking out the Core Sword. My heart’s getting crushed, pain hammering down.

The feeling in my fingertips is fading fast, my vision blurring dark, just holding onto consciousness is a b*tch.

The Dullahan in front of me was using all kinds of weapons to block my new magic, Idea, and attack me.

“Hahaha! You crazy b*stard, you think you can kill me with magic that’s just got a big punch?”

Blood and bits of flesh were flying, the clothes I was wearing turning into rags, as the battle turned more and more brutal. The Dullahan was letting out a huge laugh.

“Sorry to break it to you, but nobody can die easily in the Forsaken Hollow. And I’m a Death Knight! An immortal being that can’t be extinguished as long as I have a Life Vessel…”

“…Like I give a shit about that, you dumbass.”

I spat out a curse at the Dullahan, who was already sure of his victory, and let out a hollow laugh. Seeing that moron still acting tough just made me sick.

Truth is, Idea, the magic I created, wasn’t finished yet, just like the Dullahan said. To unleash the full power I originally planned, I’d need to get all my comrades’ strength into the magic circle, but…

‘Looks like two is the limit for now…’

Besides Victoria’s divine power, there was only room for one more power to fit.

I was staring at the structure of the magic circle in my sight, guessing at the limits. If I forced any more power in, it wouldn’t hold and would just explode.

“Victoria, Kyle. If you guys are watching, can you help me out? It’s kinda cheap, but… this seems like the best way to kill this garbage.”

Breathing raggedly, I sent a telepathic message to my comrades using magic.

Wouldn’t the best way to defeat the First Hero, who surrendered to the Demon King and became corrupted, be with the power of the current Hero?