LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 86
Chapter 86 You Shouldn’t Have Messed with the Kid!
[By the way, Olgania, why do I smell the scent of rotten ants coming from you?]
At Shia’s bombshell statement, the elves gathered in the Grand Council could not say a word.EW
Instead of the sound of people, silence and stillness filled the empty space.
The elves were not foolish enough to misunderstand what they had just heard.
Shia’s words were clear.
Impurities, Chaos Ants, mimics.
And Olgania, the one called the last child of the World Tree, was being accused as their leader.
“H-ha… Miss Shia? What are you saying? That’s a terrible joke, haha!”
Olgania spoke as if she had just heard an awful joke.
It didn’t feel real.
[Does it seem like a joke? Saintesses cannot lie, Olgania.]
“Are you saying I’m joking too!? You’re calling me an ant right now!”
Olgania’s face twisted as if she had been betrayed.
No, calling it betrayal was odd too.
Olgania had been watching Shia’s broadcasts for a long time.
It was Olgania herself who judged Shia’s character and integrity.
She had believed that Shia was trustworthy, that Shia was someone who would understand.
Because she thought it would be okay with Shia, she invited her to the Great Forest, even if it meant exposing the elves’ and her own secrets.
In short, it was Olgania alone who trusted Shia from the beginning.
Shia, however, had never once said she trusted Olgania.
In truth, Shia had never told a lie as befitting a saintess.
And now, with a saintly, gentle smile, Shia softly embraced Olgania with both her tentacles and hands.
[Don’t worry, Olgania. I’m just here to check.]
“…Hi…!”
“How dare you, outsider!!!”
At that moment, an elderly white-haired elf, seated in the highest position of the Elders’ Council, burst out in rage.
It was Elder Gallard.
He was the oldest among the elders, and the one who had previously tried to exclude Olgania from the Council.
“Are you accusing Olgania, the last child of the World Tree, of being a filthy pest?”
Shia looked at Elder Gallard, seemingly surprised.
She hadn’t expected the one who had tried to oust Olgania at every turn to stand up for her now.
[I’m merely stating the facts, but if you snap back at me like that, I can’t even say what I need to.]
“What you want to say must be nothing more than false accusations, vulgar slander, and filthy insults! Olgania is the child of the World Tree, and that unshakable truth cannot be denied by anyone! Besides, the very idea that you are a saintess in the first place is absurd! Get out of here at once!”
[Well, I expected some backlash.]
“Hah! Do you think I, this old man, still oversee the Elders’ Council for no reason? It is to protect Lady Olgania from all threats, especially from a nobody like you! What are the Lotus Knights doing? Drag this filthy woman out of here now!”
“Yes!”
At Elder Gallard’s command, the Lotus Knights, who had been waiting, jumped down from the tall trees onto the floor of the Grand Council, where Shia stood.
Olgania might have been treated like a princess pushed out of the power struggle, but to the elves, she was the last remnant of their Mother World Tree and a being to be protected above all else.
Although Shia had earned the elves’ favor over the past week by healing their ailments and playing the fool to gain their affection, it wasn’t enough for them to tolerate her slandering and accusing Olgania.
“Knights, stand down.”
“What?”
However, the knights who had been about to arrest Shia froze at Elanarre’s low voice.
The Lotus Knights were puzzled as to why Elanarre had given such an order, but they were knights, and Elanarre had led them for hundreds of years.
Even if the order seemed unreasonable, they had to trust and follow her.
“Commander Elanarre! What are you doing?”
“I simply gave my knights a command.”
“Are you in league with that vile outsider as well?”
“Of course not. But I am the commander of the Lotus Knights. Isn’t it overstepping your authority to give orders to my knights while I’m watching?”
“You… you!”
“Commander Elanarre! Have you finally fallen?!”
“I never imagined this!”
“You’ve sided with the outsider…!”
“Then give the order yourself, Commander! Tell us to expel that outsider immediately!”
“No.”
“What…!”
Elder Gallard, his face flushed with rage, grabbed the back of his neck, while other elders also began to chime in.
“Even so, I have just transferred my authority as an elder to the Saintess of the Dead, Shia. Now you want to revoke that decision and arrest her only minutes after? Are you trying to drag my face through the mud?”
“Elanarre!! Are you joking right now?!”
Even the elves seated in the trees began shouting in confusion, anger, and frustration.
They yelled insults at Shia and Elanarre, calling them madwomen and saying they didn’t know their place despite having been treated well.
And through the noise of the chaotic Grand Council, Elder Entamia placed a gentle hand on Elder Gallard’s shoulder.
“Calm down, Elder Gallard.”
“How can I calm down right now?!”
“Neither the fact that Olgania is an impurity nor that the outsider is lying has been properly judged yet.”
“Elder Entamia! Do you believe the nonsense that outsider is spewing?”
“It’s not about believing or not. We should hear them out and find the truth before deciding how to deal with them. If we’re going to expel them anyway, isn’t it premature to involve the knights now?”
[Ah, are you done? Can I speak now?]
The elders, including Gallard, ground their teeth as they glared at Shia, who still seemed unfazed.
During this time, Shia gently petted Olgania’s head with her tentacles and hands, as if cradling her like a hostage.
Tears welled up in Olgania’s eyes, filled with betrayal and anger.
She was desperately trying to hold them back, but the trial and the betrayal she was facing were overwhelming for one as young as her.
[Let me ask. Olgania, you don’t have biological parents, right?]
“…….!”
She didn’t.
The children of the World Tree are born from its fruit.
There could be no parents.
There was no one to verify her birth.
[So, is there anyone here who witnessed Olgania’s birth?]
“….”
“……”
“….No?”
“Now that you mention it, Lady Olgania…”
Of course, there wasn’t.
Even if someone had witnessed Olgania’s birth, they would have died back when the World Tree was burning.
[Some of you may know, but Chaos Ant mimics can not only wear a perfect elf skin but also have the ability to alter and blend into the perceptions of those around them. When I think about that…]
Swoosh.
Shia gently stroked Olgania again.
“…Huh, uh…”
[It’s only natural to be suspicious of Olgania, who has no birth, no moment of origin, no family, and yet is revered by all the elves, isn’t it?]
Whether it was hallucination, pheromones, or hypnosis, no one could tell.
But the circumstances were suspicious.
How could so many impurities have infiltrated the elves?
If someone had been working as an insider to help them blend in, and that person held a high position like Olgania, wouldn’t it make sense?
[If there was a Chaos Ant mimic with a high rank, like an elder or Olgania herself, wouldn’t it explain why so many impurities have infiltrated the Great Forest?]
“Well, that’s true…”
“Are you crazy!?”
“But it makes sense! If someone as high-ranking as an elder or Lady Olgania were a mimic…”
“That can’t be true…”
“No way, could it…?”
[It’s natural that you don’t believe me. It would be strange if you did based on my words alone.]
[Miracle – The Pilgrim’s Sigh.]
With that, Shia snapped her fingers, and a miracle unfolded.
It was a miracle even Olgania, who had been watching Shia’s broadcasts, had never seen before.
Since it wasn’t an offensive or threatening miracle, even Elanarre, who had been ready to draw her sword, relaxed her grip.
[This miracle allows me to share my senses with others. Normally, I use it with the Hero, but since she’s not here, I’ll share it with all of you.]
The elves realized it.
They could now smell the “rotten scent” that Shia had mentioned.
“Sniff, sniff…?”
“What is this smell…”
“A rotten smell.”
“It’s a rotten stench…”
The smell of decaying leaves, rotting crops, grapes spoiled in the mud…
It didn’t feel like a hallucination, an illusion, or manipulation.
Just as miracles and holy power didn’t lie in the previous world, this too was real.
“…There’s really a smell.”
“The smell is coming from Lady Olgania.”
“…Is it true?”
At the elves’ whispers, Olgania trembled.
Is it real?
Is it true?
Is it really?
The faces of the other elves, Commander Elanarre, and even Elders Entamia and Gallard hardened.
“This… this can’t be…”
“Lady Olgania…”
The smell was real.
Even Olgania herself could smell the rotten stench coming from her own body.
“H-ha… haha…”
Yes, so that’s how it is.
I…
I didn’t even know I was an ant…?
Was I the impurity all along…? Was it really me?
Tears streamed down Olgania’s face.
It wasn’t sadness so much as disbelief.
She wasn’t even angry.
She just trembled intermittently, staring blankly at the dark ceiling of the Grand Council.
“Olgania.”
“….Ha, haha…”
I haven’t even told Miss Shia why I invited her here yet.
I haven’t even revealed our real secret…
But before all that, it turns out I’m the secret…
Shia gently wiped the tears streaming down Olgania’s cheek and smiled.
Her smile, as pure and serene as it was at the beginning, didn’t carry the gaze of mercy shown to a condemned person.
“Don’t worry, Olgania. I’m giving you a chance.”
Shia whispered softly.
“Elder Gallard?”
“…..”
Elder Gallard, who had been speechless from the shock, did not respond.
Guess not.
Shia turned her gaze to Elder Entamia beside him.
“Elder Entamia? In cases like this, what should be done?”
“In a case like this… well, if it turns out that the impurity is indeed identified, unless anyone here opposes…”
With a sorrowful look, Entamia glanced at Olgania.
“We kill them.”
“……!”
Kill.
The word made Olgania bite her lip.
“Haa, I see.”
“…Sh-Shia… Miss…”
Shia sighed and summoned something into her right hand.
As white holy power surged from her hand, a tall, massive object manifested.
[Miracle – King’s Scepter of the Dead]
It was a pitch-black mace.
A mace that seemed to have absorbed the blood of countless victims and harvested countless souls.
Just looking at its menacing form made fear well up.
Seeing this, Olgania bit her lip and let her shoulders relax.
Ah, it’s over now.
Ah, it really is irreversible.
“…I’ve never seen this on the broadcast.”
“Right?”
Shia, speaking calmly, once again stroked Olgania’s head.
As if to reassure her.
Just as she had been doing all along, the same as before.
“Um, Miss Shia.”
At that moment, Elder Entamia approached Shia.
“Isn’t it too hasty to kill Lady Olgania… or, I mean, this impurity who might not even be…”
“…..Really?”
“Yes. The true identity hasn’t been fully revealed yet, so let’s detain the recruit for now and figure it out later….”
“Shit, this is so fucking disgusting.”
In that moment, the atmosphere changed with Shia’s suddenly altered voice.
Shia glared at Entamia with a chilling gaze.
With her other hand, she gently covered Olgania’s eyes.
And then, she took a step.
“You can mess with anything.”
“Huh?”
“Except her.”
Another step.
Crunch!
“Don’t you dare touch her.”
And then.
The sound of muscles twisting.
Crack!
“You shouldn’t have!!!”
A full-powered swing followed.
BANG!!!!
“Ugh, blugh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
In an instant, the mace in Shia’s hand, charged with immense holy power, struck Entamia’s head.
“You’re reminding me of the Demon King, you fucking bitch!!!!”
Shia’s truly enraged voice echoed through Daedong Palace in no time.
The other elves couldn’t even grasp what had just happened.
They were frozen, paralyzed by the overwhelming, terrifying killing intent Shia emitted.
What the hell just happened?
Why did she attack Entamia instead of Lady Olgania?
Look over there!
That’s not Elder Entamia!
That’s— that’s something else!
As the dust cleared, the elves could finally see Entamia, who had been struck by Shia’s mace and sent flying.
The mask was shattered and fell to the ground.
[How, did, you, know?]
A hidden, unpleasant smell, like rotting flesh, seeped out through the crushed shell.
[I, thought, I, prepared, perfectly?]
“Yeah, I’m sure you thought you prepared perfectly.”
[Since, when, did, you, know?]
“Since when, you ask? From the very beginning.”
Shia finally removed the hand that had been covering Olgania’s eyes.
“Oh, oh no…..”
A soft tendril gently caressed Olgania’s cheek, as if to apologize.
Shia stroked the traces of tears that had run down Olgania’s face, but directed her murderous glare at that filthy, wicked ant.
“You know… I gave you a chance. I even overlooked the fact that you doused Olgania in ant pheromones like you were pouring tea. You worked your manipulations well, kept things subtle. You probably even instigated enough discord in the Elder Council to keep them from forming any unity. You were the one who spread that mysterious disease by poisoning the elves’ lakes and water sources with ant venom, weren’t you? But you know what?”
Shia slowly approached Entamia.
“Do you remember the first words you said in front of me?”
[First, words?]
‘I’m sorry, Lady Olgania. I apologize on behalf of the other elders.’ Entamia recalled the words she had said in the Elder Council, tilting her damaged head.
What was wrong with that?
“From the very start, every apology out of your mouth was a lie.”
[…It, was, a, lie? So, you, attacked, me, for, that? I, don’t, understand.]
Screech, crunch, crunch.
Entamia struggled to raise her broken body from the wreckage.
Of course, if it had just been that, Shia might have just thought she was a nasty person and moved on.
But even after that, every word Entamia spoke was a lie.
Her gentle smile as she discussed alternatives, her claims of wanting to protect the elves, even referring to Lady Olgania with respect— all lies.
Lies, lies, lies, everything was a lie.
I’m worried about Lady Olgania.
I’m sorry.
Thank you.
Shall we have some tea?
All lies.
Everything was a lie.
A filthy, rotten lie.
‘Do we really need to be so hasty in killing Lady Olgania? No, that impurity might not even deserve the name anymore.’
Even that hypocritical suggestion had been a lie.
Inside, she had been endlessly repeating, ‘Kill her now. Kill her now. Kill her now. Kill her now. Kill her now. Kill her now. Kill her now. Kill her now. Kill her now.’
“And you know what else? The other Chaos Ants that disguised themselves didn’t even know they were ants.”
[….!]
“Those Chaos Ants disguised as elves didn’t even know they were ants. Even though they gave off a rotten smell, not a single one of them spoke falsehoods. They all truly believed they were part of the Great Forest. Even if it was a role they were given, whether through mental alteration or hallucinations, they each became someone’s friend, someone’s family, and lived their lives without lies.”
Even though they were ants.
They genuinely believed themselves to be part of the Great Forest.
All except for one.
The only one filled with malice and deceit, that damned queen ant, Entamia.
“And out of all of them, the only one harboring lies and malice was you, Entamia, you fucking bitch.”
[Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, twisted, aren’t, we. This, is, quite.]
“Or should I put it differently? You damn queen ant, you foul bitch.”
Entamia raised her creaking body.
Sharp ant mandibles and legs protruded from her body like thorns, twisting her already damaged form.
[Doesn’t Matter.]
“What?”
At that moment, Entamia raised her hand.
Crrrack!
Crunch!
Snap!
Griiind!
“Aah, aahhhhhh!”
“Wha… What’s going on?!”
“Knight! My mother—!”
“Run!”
The moment her hand moved, as if manipulating a marionette, the hall filled with screams.
Creak, snap, crack, snap!
[The Queen commands.]
Crack!
[Let all show their true forms, every speck of their hideous nature…!]
1928.
That was the number of Chaos Ant imposters hiding within the Great Forest’s elven society, according to Shia.
And under the queen’s gesture and command, each one of them began forcibly breaking free of their elven shells.
“No… no, I’m not an ant! I’m an elf, an elf… no… ga… gah!”
“Mireina!!”
“It’s too dangerous! It’s too late!”
“No, no… I’m not… I’m not an ant… I… I’m…”
“No, noooo! I am… I… gaaah!”
“Knights, protect our kin at once!”
“Yes, sir!!”
Pandemonium erupted.
Parents, friends, colleagues—all those they had once known—were transforming before their eyes into a grotesque blend of elf and ant.
As the crisis unfolded, Elanarre led the knights, separating the imposters from the elves.
Entamia chuckled, her eyes locked on Shia with a twisted grin.
[Hee, heehee! You made one mistake.]
Entamia’s expression warped into what could only be described as a smile.
[Me, an ant queen? The Chaos Ant queen? That’s wrong.]
Then Entamia’s crushed body began glowing with a sinister purple light.
Shia, recognizing the light, narrowed her eyes with an intense glare.
[I… am becoming the Demon King…!]
[Not many lives left for your tribute, are there?!]
[You’re already too late!!]
The conditions required to summon a fragment of the Demon King:
The number of lives.
The count of malevolence.
Accumulate enough lives and malevolence to satisfy the fragment, and the one possessing you will gain the right.
The right to become the King of Malevolence.
The right to become the Demon King!
“Ha. The things some wretches do.”
But even as she heard those words, Shia looked at Entamia with a mixture of disgust and exasperation.
“As the Saintess, let me declare one thing here.”
[What?]
“No one here will die.”
[Kihihi, hahaha!]
Entamia laughed.
Fine, credit where credit is due.
Shia, the Saintess of the Dead, you are strong.
So very strong.
Strong enough to fear!
But it’s too late.
If you had arrived a year ago… no, even six months, or perhaps a month earlier, then yes, this plan might have failed!
But Entamia had been feeding fragments with countless elven lives and bodies, accumulating malevolence and fulfilling the qualifications for becoming the Demon King over a long time.
How many could you possibly save here?
Of the 30,000 elves, 1928 imposters were breaking free and transforming into their true nature.
Meanwhile, outside, the soldier ants, Chaos Ants, under my command, would be pushing their way into this place soon.
[Hahaha! What can you possibly do alone? Even if you kill me after the fragment is satisfied, it won’t matter!]
“When did I say I was doing this alone?”
[What?]
Ignoring Entamia, Shia embraced Olgania gently.
“Sh-Shia?”
“Olga, I’m so sorry. This must have been terrifying.”
“…………”
“It’s more than an apology could cover, doing this without telling you. But once it’s over, I’ll explain everything and accept whatever you decide. So, please, trust me one more time.”
Ignoring the chaos around them, Olgania felt as if only she and Shia existed in the world.
“I… trust you.”
“Thank you.”
At that, Shia clasped her hands together.
“All right, it’s time to work. O, Hero.”
With reverence.
With sanctity.
In her truest form, the Saintess, offering a prayer to the divine.
“This land is tainted. I need your hand now.”
[But I am not there.]
A voice resounded, causing Olgania and Entamia to look up.
‘I’ve heard this voice before…?’
For some reason, Olgania felt a strange sense of familiarity.
[As the Hero, I ask you, Saintess, is it true that I am absent from that place?]
The voice posed a question to the Saintess.
“You, the dismal liar. You, the pitifully exiled. As Saintess Shia of the Dead, I answer. Nothing of you shall be true.”
The Saintess replied to the voice.
[Then let the lie become truth!]
“You, the fleeing Hero of lies. It is time for all to return to their place. As the Saintess, I vouch for you!”
Thump!
[Great Miracle—Hero Summoning]
[Great Resurrection—The False Shall Become Truth]
At that moment, space itself shattered.
The Hero, summoned by the Saintess, pierced through the boundaries of reality, the Great Forest, the dungeon, and beyond to descend upon this place.
Shia was the Saintess.
A Saintess who assisted and brought miracles to her Hero.
Her previous world’s Hero had been Menelapie Hailam.
But since Menelapie did not exist in this world, someone else answered this call.
The False Hero, Yujin.
A Hero who had once failed to protect the world.
Though he failed, he was still a Hero.
Though Yujin struggled to acknowledge himself as a Hero, berating himself for his failures, the fact that he was a Hero could not be erased.
Through falsehoods and deception.
Yujin was not merely a “fake” Hero but the Hero of Falsehood.
Yujin, the False Hero.
Turning lies into truth.
Turning deception into reality.
A deceiver with the power to bring illusions into the real world.
And he responded to the Saintess’s call.
[Impossible…]
“…Yujin?”
Through the wavering, illusion-like space, Olgania saw someone approaching.
Entamia, too, looked on in disbelief at the figure.
Black hair, a neat silhouette, and a small frame, comparable even to Olgania’s petite form.
But the figure shimmered, as though merely an apparition, as the shattered space wavered.
Yujin transformed into the black-haired man who had first met Shia.
“When did you realize, Shia?”
In his male form, Yujin looked at Shia.
Shia regarded Yujin, cloaked in illusion, with a mocking gaze as she stood up.
“From the start.”
“Ha, still as insufferable as ever.”
“A Saintess who can’t recognize her own Hero isn’t fit to be one.”
Shia had known from the beginning.
That everything about Yujin was a lie.
And that his power—the ability to turn lies into reality—was her… no, his power.
“Yu… Yujin? Is it really you?”
“…Olga.”
Yujin cast a brief, almost wistful glance at Olgania, as though they were old acquaintances, but quickly closed his eyes, casting aside any lingering feelings.
“We’ll talk after this battle is over.”
Once called the False Hero.
Once called the Hero of Deception.
Yujin now stood beside Shia.
The False Hero and the Saintess of the Dead.
The Hero and Saintess, both warped in their own ways, now faced the fragment of the Demon King.
Ah, it’s like a reunion with an old friend.
It’s almost funny. Don’t you think so?
Spare me the nonsense. Nothing about that bastard is funny.
[Bastard, wenches…]
“Die.”
“Perish.”