I Can Hear the Saint’s Inner Thoughts

89 – Idea(4)

“Kehlok, almost died with it…!”

Right now, I couldn’t even move a finger properly, sprawled across the arena floor, gasping for air.

The fallout from abusing the mana core and not thinking about the recoil. A magic that would leave me vulnerable enough to be killed by another enemy if it weren’t a one-on-one duel.

Thinking about Idea, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

This… this could definitely kill the Demon King.

Just a little, but I felt like I touched the power of God.

It wasn’t just my power alone, it was made possible by borrowing the power of my comrades.

“Looks like I need to find a way to defend my body…”

I was barely holding on, my bones feeling shattered, blood rushing backwards in my head, a brutal headache and pain consuming me, all while trying to figure out how to improve the Idea.

It was the occupational hazard of someone who’d dedicated their entire life to the study of magic.

Like the Dullahan said, this magic was still incomplete.

There was still no way to protect the caster from the massive explosion that occurred during the sealing, and the structure needed to be changed to allow for the inclusion of more of my comrades’ power.

At that moment, a voice loud enough to hurt my ears was booming.

“H-How could this happen─!! The Dullahan-sama has vanished without a trace─!! A being who is one of the Demon Lord’s Four Heavenly Kings, annihilated in this Forsaken Hollow?!”

The Siren, the commentator, was more panicked than anyone, seeing that the Dullahan’s form had disappeared.

It’s a shame but it wasn’t a complete annihilation.

The Idea isn’t an offensive magic, after all; it had merely sealed the Dullahan somewhere.

“I-In this case, according to the arena’s rules, the victor becomes the Mad Mage─! Where has the Dullahan-sama actually gone…”

Murmur, murmur.

It wasn’t just the Siren who was agitated. As if unable to accept the Dullahan’s defeat, voices were rising from the stands as well.

“The Dullahan-sama lost? No way! There’s no way someone who’s one of the Demon Lord’s Four Heavenly Kings would just disappear like that!”

“No. The opponent is the mage who killed Bellamora-nim. Can’t you tell from the fact that he’s killed every participant in the arena to get here?”

Because I had defeated almost all the participants in order to fight the Dullahan, I could hear the voices of people in the audience who were on my side.

They probably haven’t seen magic with a scale or power as massive as the Idea, so they can’t imagine surviving an attack like that.

Well, who else would have created magic like this.

I was so lost in the moment that my lips kept twitching upwards, and I fought back the laughter that threatened to erupt, even forgetting the pain that was gripping my whole body.

With this, I’ve avenged my parents and the people of my hometown. The feeling of the guilt that had tormented me for ten years disappearing was so incredibly liberating.

It was that very instant.

“Astal-nim, are you feeling any better?”

The Saintess, Victoria, whose presence was so immense the sun in the sky seemed only half-visible, came straight to my side, supporting my head with her knees.

Just how long had she been waiting?

To say she’d come the instant the arena battle finished, her expression was too mixed with worry and relief.

“If I say I’m okay… you’re gonna punch me, right?”

“No, do you still think of me as such a violent woman?”

Victoria was speaking while holding back tears. I wanted to wipe them away, but I hated my body, which couldn’t move at all.

“Your figure is violently appealing enough to make you lose sight of everything else, though.”

I deliberately blurted out a vulgar joke I’d never usually say to Victoria. Because I didn’t want to see her sad face.

“Is that so? Then I’ll do as you wish.”

Squeeze─.

In that instant, my vision went dark.

Victoria leaned her waist slightly forward, using the innocent love pouches on her chest to press against my face.

The soft, warm feeling spread directly across my face, and a sweet, stimulating floral scent wafted out.

“Victoria… I can’t breathe very well… I can’t even twitch a finger right now…”

“I know how to control it. I’ve secretly practiced a little while you were sleeping.”

“…….”

As Victoria said, I could barely breathe, and like reaping the consequences of pushing away her feelings all this time, I had no choice but to enjoy her body.

If this were before our contract relationship, the moment I spoke like this, she would have condemned me as a pervert or given me a disgusted look.

“Just… stay like this for a moment. It makes me feel a little more at ease.”

Right now, Victoria’s so clumsy at expressing her emotions, it’s like she can’t help but make mistakes, can’t help but lie and fool herself.

I couldn’t exactly scold her playful whining either.

– I’m embarrassed too, but… I don’t want anyone to see this… I just want to joke around like normal right now. If I think about you almost dying, I feel like I’ll cry…

Victoria’s true feelings echoed from the dark, comforting abyss.

Contrary to how she was desperately trying not to sound sad, her voice was choked up, like she’d even imagined me dying.

“I told you I wasn’t going to die. How little do you trust me?”

“You were sneaking cigarettes and alcohol from me, weren’t you.”

“That’s different, this is different–. *Ugh…*”

“This is punishment for saying bad things. You might’ve sweated a little, but you seemed to enjoy that more.”

Squish, squish.

Seeing her lean forward even further this time, blocking my mouth, I realized the depth of my karma.

I apologized a few times and finally, the view in front of me cleared a bit.

“…Seeing you making dirty jokes that aren’t like you, it seems you’re not going to die any time soon. Good thing I won’t have to worry about becoming a widow.”

Victoria must have caught the meaning hidden in my words because she wiped away her tears with a playful smile.

Even in the arena crawling with monsters and demons, the saintess Victoria Everheart prioritized what *she* wanted.

Which was to be by the side of the man she loved most.

And it was like she wanted to make up for not fighting alongside me, and for shedding tears because she didn’t trust me to come back alive.

“Victoria, my victory isn’t exactly set in stone yet, is it really okay for you to come down to the arena like this?”

“It doesn’t matter. The Astal I know always wins. Of course you won, right?”

As Victoria said those words, she gave me a small kiss on the forehead and, wearing a contented smile, smoothed my bangs with her fingers.

“…To be honest, it was a brutal fight. I couldn’t even kill the Dullahan completely.”

I was telling Victoria about the outcome of the battle, looking at her.

“If you couldn’t kill it… is it because of Forsaken Hollow’s trait? No one can die here, after all.”

“That’s part of it, but I also didn’t like the idea of letting the b*stard die peacefully.”

I let out a triumphant laugh as I said that. Even though my lungs were wrecked and my ribs were broken, spitting up blood.

“I gave him a punishment worse than death. Turns out, his life vessel was the very holy sword he’d never dared to draw. Probably scared it’d break or get destroyed.”

“That… is that even possible? To imbue your essence into a sword forged by Lord Odin himself?”

Victoria watched all this without even a grimace or a word of disgust, using her sleeve to wipe away the bloodstains.

I liked that about her.

The selfless way she’d wade into the dirtiest muck without hesitation to save someone… It felt so saintly.

“But he overlooked something. That sword isn’t a holy sword anymore, it’s a cursed blade. It’s devoured far too much blood and resentment from innocent people.”

I vividly remember the moment the Dullahan drew the holy sword. It was less a holy sword and more a cursed blade, etched with the grudges of those he’d killed.

Souls clinging to the sword, unable to even go to hell, waiting for the day the Dullahan finally dies.

Maybe it was because I briefly approached godhood through Idea, but I caught sight of the original hero party members glaring at the Dullahan as if they wanted to tear him apart, tears streaming down their faces.

– I’m sorry.

He probably killed his lover and child with that sword. The saintess holding the baby even mouthed the words “I’m sorry” to me.

It seemed they felt remorse that their past mistakes led to such continued misfortune.

“There was even a woman dressed as a saintess, holding a baby. Maybe that’s why Lumina, the heavenly god, opposes us. Well, it doesn’t seem like a total opposition, though…”

“Not a total opposition? What are you talking about?”

“Who knows? You’d be better off asking her yourself later. I think even the gods have things they’re hiding, you know?”

It was probably the celestial Luminail who allowed me to hear Victoria’s inner thoughts.

If she really intended to interfere between Victoria and me, she would have twisted the voices in her head to drive us apart, or she wouldn’t have made such a strange condition when I refused her confession.

“Well, if it really doesn’t work out, I have my own plans.”

“Do you… have the same idea as me?”

“Probably? If I can just finish the magic that kills the Demon King, it won’t matter if you’re a normal woman instead of a saint.”

I smiled as I looked at the result of what Idea had created in the distance.

If Victoria becoming an ordinary person with no powers was the problem, I would just create magic so powerful that it wouldn’t even be a problem.

Of course, there were many parts that needed to be improved in Idea right now, and many parts that needed to be supplemented.

“…I will be waiting. Both for the real answer to the confession you promised before, and for the magic that can kill the Demon King.”

I can do it if I’m with Victoria and my comrades.

She heard my resolve, smiled brightly, and kissed me briefly on the lips.

– [That goddamn b*stard!! How dare you, how dare you seal me in a holy sword…?! I will escape no matter what!! Someday, I’ll get out of this trash heap and tear you to shreds, peel the flesh from your bones, and hang your guts and skeleton as a public warning!!]

A voice that ruined the lingering feeling could be heard.

Ah, the mood was fucking perfect.

The voice that rumbled out of the black holy sword could only belong to Durahan.

From the beginning, Idea was sealing magic, not attack magic, and I didn’t like the thought of the opponent who had tormented me so much dying easily.

“Astar, this is…”

“I sealed Durahan himself inside the cursed holy sword. Now, he’ll be tormented by the people he killed for eternity, without ever going to heaven or hell.”

I only helped him a little to receive the karma he had accumulated.

If he had really lived kindly like Kyle, nothing would have happened.

– [aaagh, Uaaagh!!! Please stop, stop it!! I am the Chosen Hero!! I’m not supposed to be tormented by you lot here!!]

After some time, the Dullahan, as if suffering tortures worse than death at the hands of the people he had killed, was soon uttering humiliating words: ‘Please save me!! I’ll do anything, please!!’

“I was thinking of giving him to Kyle to use later… or maybe sticking him in our parents’ grave…, what do you think, Victoria?”

“How about we dip him in magma once, or submerge him in the ocean to torment him? It’s not fair if we don’t do anything.”

“That’s true, I guess.”

Victoria wore a smile more devilish than anyone as she thought about how to torture the Dullahan.

” Forsaken Hollow, the winner of the 4,321st Arena is─!! The Harmless Magician, Astal Kaisaros!! Congratulations─!!”

Sensing the situation, Siren was the first to loudly announce my name, letting everyone know that I had won.

Yeah, you could’ve called me that from the beginning.