Chapter 144 The Witch of the Dark Star 3
To be honest… I didn’t want to kill Lirisia.
I knew well that she had tried to kill me and Yeonhwa.
However, even though she was a corrupted version of herself.
Even though she had committed sins in the previous world and had been tainted, Shia didn’t want to kill Lirisia.
Even if, as Lirisia had said, I possessed the same stats and specs as her, I couldn’t truly harbor any intent to kill her from beginning to end.
A saintess is a being that saves, not one that judges and kills.
A saintess is someone who sings of hope, not someone who assumes the worst, and brings forth light instead of the darkness lurking within people.
Even though I wasn’t born a saintess, but rather became one later, I swore to live as one. I had worked hard to live that way.
Even if it was just imitating, I still tried. I lived that way.
Wanting to save even the corrupted version of myself…
I couldn’t help it.
It was inevitable.
I just wanted to do it.
It was simply because I wanted to.
‘Her face was also quite my type.’
It felt a bit strange to call someone who looked just like me “my type,” but it’s not like I usually look at my own face all the time.
Even if our faces were the same, the atmosphere we gave off was different. If you looked closely, there were subtle differences here and there.
However, if Lirisia had really eaten the children here, there would be no turning back.
‘But why did she come all the way here? She could’ve just blown things up in a crowded place, right…?’
If she had attacked or killed someone in the middle of the city, not only would I or Menelapie have noticed immediately, but the Hunter Association and various guilds would have dispatched awakened beings, leading to a battle. I knew full well that the terrible powers of the Saintess of the Dead were better suited for large-scale destruction and spreading chaos, rather than individual combat.
That’s how it had been in the previous world.
I had even stood alone against the massive armies of the Demon King.
And yet, the reason Lirisia had come all the way here… If I had to guess, it might be that her power hadn’t fully recovered yet, or maybe her body wasn’t in normal condition due to the backlash from breaking out of the seal I had placed.
The reason why Menelapie and I had come to this deserted outer district was similar.
This area was always unstable, with erosion gates constantly opening, making public safety precarious. Low-tier monsters like goblins, corn gnats, and sewer wolves roamed around, so there were few people and little foot traffic.
There was no reason for Lirisia to come here, yet as I tracked her traces, the trail had led me here, to the very last place I could think of.
‘If her strength wasn’t fully restored… maybe she came here to recover quietly without causing a commotion.’
Yeah, there were no connections here. Even if everyone in the orphanage were suddenly massacred, it would take much longer to notice than if it had happened in the city.
Aside from the electric fence installed to keep out low-level monsters, there was nothing here that could stop Lirisia.
From Lirisia’s perspective, it could’ve felt like a free buffet.
‘Stop, stop. Stop… There’s no proof yet that Lirisia has eaten anyone. There’s no smell of blood either…’
If there were a smell of blood, I would’ve been the first to notice it.
Oh… no. Could she have devoured everything so cleanly that there wasn’t even a drop of blood left?
Please, please.
Let nothing have happened.
I prayed so.
Surely, it can’t be.
Surely, it can’t be…
Thump, thump.
“Hello? Shia?”
“Uh…”
As soon as I entered the orphanage, a voice called out, and I, like a tumbler that had tripped, came to a halt.
The one who called me was a woman in a neat nun’s habit, possibly from a Catholic orphanage.
And of course, I didn’t recognize this nun.
For this nun, whom I was seeing for the first time, to call my name, it could only mean one of two things.
Either she had been watching my broadcasts for a long time… or…
‘It’s certain that Lirisia was here…’
Judging by the nun’s lack of fear, it seemed nothing bad had happened here.
Lirisia hadn’t eaten the children or caused a scene here.
Thank goodness. The worst-case scenario hadn’t happened.
“You came by earlier, so why are you here again? Did you perhaps forget something?”
Seeing the neatly dressed modern nun after living as the free-spirited Saintess of the Dead made me feel a bit ticklish somewhere inside, but this wasn’t the time for that.
“By the way, did you dye your hair again in the meantime? Or do you perhaps have the ability to change your appearance?”
“…Looks like my twin came by.”
“Oh, you have a twin?!”
There was no other explanation I could give that wouldn’t sound strange.
“But wow, a twin! You’re a returnee, right? Does that mean your twin is also a returnee?”
“…Huh?”
How did she know I was a returnee? How did she know I was Shia?
“Hehe, actually, I watch your streams too. We don’t have much money running the orphanage, so I can’t donate much, but I’m a proud member of the Mangji Squad.”
…Excuse me? What?
No way.
Why is the Mangji Squad being mentioned here?
“Since there’s an erosion gate open nearby, it’s hard to go outside. The kids are only safe playing inside the electric fence, so there’s not much to do here besides housework or watching Hunter streams. That’s how I ended up randomly stumbling upon your stream on Switch and have been watching for a while. Oh, don’t mind the nun’s habit. I do go to church, but I’m not that devout. I just play the role of a nun in front of my father and the other nuns. But you, Shia, are a real saintess, right? What’s the point of pretending to be a nun in front of a true saintess?”
The nun shrugged her shoulders proudly as if it were an achievement, leaving me momentarily dumbfounded.
“Anyway, I thought something was off when the Shia who came by earlier had black hair. She wasn’t exactly like the Shia from the stream. When I asked her about it, she just smiled and didn’t answer, so I thought maybe it was a broadcast secret. But as you know, Shia, your figure… Well, your holy power pouch isn’t common, is it? As soon as I saw her face, I knew it was you right away.”
…I’ve never measured exactly, but I haven’t seen anyone over 180 cm tall with a chest size of 120~130 cm since coming to Earth.
I mean, you could probably find something on the internet, but…
“…Yeah, well. Anyway, that person, my… unnie. No, my younger sister…”
“Your sister? The black-haired one looked more like the older sibling, though?”
“….”
I couldn’t bring myself to call that woman my “unnie.”
Sure, Lirisia had lived longer than me, had gone through much more, and had seen plenty of disgusting human affairs.
The corruption of a saintess is no trivial matter, after all.
But setting that aside, the idea of referring to the corrupted version of myself as “unnie”…
It was the first time since becoming the Saintess of the Dead that I had ever felt such terrible discomfort.
Absolutely not.
Even if it means Lirisia is my dongsaeng.
How dare a fallen woman claim to be the saintess’s “unnie”!
“Yes, she’s my younger sister.”
I said firmly.
“I see…”
The nun didn’t seem fully convinced, but it didn’t matter.
Menelapie would understand anyway! As long as Menelapie knows, that’s enough!
“Anyway, what did my sister do here?”
At my question, the Mangji Squad nun shrugged her shoulders.
“Nothing much. At first, we were startled when someone suddenly jumped over the electric fence, but when I saw that it was Shia, I was relieved. At first, I thought it was one of those orphanage donation visits that streamers sometimes do, but she suddenly said she was hungry.”
“…Excuse me?”
This insane woman.
She came to an orphanage, of all places, to ask for food?!
“It just so happened to be lunchtime. So, she ate with the children. The menu was stir-fried sausages and vegetables, seaweed soup, tofu kimchi, milk, cubed radish kimchi, seasoned seaweed, and barley rice. It was a menu the kids liked, so we had plenty in stock, thank goodness. Since I’m in the Mangji Squad, I know Shia’s tastes well. I was a little worried, but surprisingly, she didn’t eat that much?”
“…How… how much did she eat…?”
“Hm? It’s fine. She ate about 18 trays worth, so there wasn’t any food waste, and it worked out perfectly.”
“……”
Hearing that, Shia raised her wrist and turned on her smartwatch to access Hunter Pay.
“…I’ll make a donation…”
“Oh my, oh my! I didn’t say all that to ask for a donation…”
“It’s an orphan
age… Sister, it must have been hard running this place, and my sister caused trouble…”
“I’ll gratefully accept your donation.”
Yeah, this isn’t something you should refuse…
Recently, I’d handled an erosion dungeon, and I’d earned quite a bit from my stream’s sponsorships, so there were no financial issues. Shia sent a large amount of money to the nun’s smartwatch.
For the nun running the orphanage, this would be a great help for the children.
“Actually, your sister… I mean, she helped out a lot too.”
“What? That crazy woman did… what?”
“Some organization had donated rice, flour, and baby formula, but they were so heavy we had left them alone. Then your black-haired sister moved everything for us. She even played with the young children for over four hours. She was really good with the kids too. Seeing that, I thought, ‘Ah, she really is a saintess after all…’”
…She played with the children?
Of course, I liked babies too.
The pure, untainted innocence and cuteness of babies had always been something I cherished, even before becoming a saintess.
But for the dark star of a crazy witch to…?
As long as she didn’t eat them, I’d consider myself lucky, but playing with the kids for hours?
Even if this was an alternate version of myself, I couldn’t fathom the sight of the Dark Star’s Witch, who had taunted me about eating humans and wreaked havoc with large-scale destructive miracles, playing with children.
“That’s all she did… right?”
“Oh, and she killed a few sewer bugs, goblins, and concrete wolves lurking near the electric fence. You know how it is in the outer district. Sometimes when we gather donations and ask Hunters to handle it, they take care of it, but a few monsters always seem to slip through. Maybe it’s because the pay is low.”
“Is everything… okay?”
“Huh? It’s fine. The electric fence is working well, and the kids attend school via virtual classes. Once a week, we take them to the city using a large hovercraft, so they’re not in danger of being attacked by monsters. But since the monsters have been lurking near the fence, the kids were getting anxious, so your sister pulled out a big tentacle and dealt with them all. Even without a donation, I’m really grateful for that.”
Up until then, I wasn’t sure about the black hair, but when I saw the tentacle, I knew for sure it was Shia.
As the nun added that, Shia let out a sigh of relief.
I still didn’t know what Lirisia’s feelings or intentions were for coming here.
But… at least the worst scenario I had imagined hadn’t happened.
“So, where did Liri… I mean, my sister go?”
“Huh? Didn’t you run into her? She left in the same direction just before you arrived.”
The same direction…?
Wait, that’s where Menelapie is…
“Thank you! I’ll be going now!”
“Yes~ Come by again~”
○○○○○
“Haa… heh… Wow, as expected of a hero. There’s no hesitation in your strikes.”
Menelapie looked down at the bloodied Lirisia with cold eyes.
Of course, she didn’t feel at ease.
She didn’t enjoy killing.
Nor did she enjoy the sight of blood.
However, this Dark Star’s Witch had squandered the chance to die as a human.
The smell of blood coming from her body was proof enough. She didn’t even bother to offer an excuse, as if she wasn’t ashamed of her actions.
Even though she could have forgotten her past sins in the previous world and started anew, she had chosen to commit sins again at an orphanage full of children. Menelapie felt responsible for the lives lost in the process.
“Any last words?”
“Do I need them? Hehe…”
But there was no fear of death on Lirisia’s face.
Rather, she looked relieved, as if she was glad to finally die.
“What are you waiting for? Hurry up and kill me.”
“……….”
Lirisia’s arm had already been severed by Menelapie’s sword long ago.
Her malevolent energy, which could no longer be replenished, oozed from the severed stump. Lirisia willingly offered her neck to Menelapie’s sword.
“Come on. Do it.”
“……….”
I can’t. I can’t. I can’t.
Shia would’ve thought that way.
But Menelapie was a hero.
Unlike Shia, she was tasked with eradicating evil, judging, and cutting it down.
Menelapie’s golden eyes closed.
Even with her eyes shut, beheading the defenseless Lirisia would be no trouble at all.
“Why did you do it…”
“What do you mean?”
“I gave you a chance. Why… did you choose this path again?”
“…Heh, do you really need a reason?”
“…..!”
To Menelapie, those words sounded like this:
I’m already too late.
I’ve fallen.
I’m drenched in sin.
And you want to know why?
There’s no need for a reason.
I’m already evil.
So go ahead and cut me down.
Kill me, hero.
Menelapie bit her lip and raised her sword.
Boom!!
“Stooooop!!! Sister, don’t do it!!!!!!”
“Huh?”
“…Shia?!”
At that moment, Shia, moving faster than sound, wrapped both arms around Menelapie’s waist.
Since Shia’s strength was much greater than Menelapie’s, her straightforward rush surpassed even Menelapie’s senses.
“Nothing happened! It’s okay! It’s okay!”
“What are you…”
Menelapie looked down in bewilderment at Shia, who was desperately clinging to her waist.
“Ugh, what horrible timing~”
And as if the low voice from earlier had disappeared, Lirisia’s playful tone caused Menelapie’s forehead to twitch.
This woman, surely…
“Ah, the genre always has to start with despair, regret, and obsession, doesn’t it?”
You did it on purpose…!
Seeing Shia stopping her and Lirisia getting up as if nothing had happened, Menelapie grasped the situation roughly, and her face turned bright red.
For her to fall for such a prank…!
“Hahaha, if you had killed me and shed even a single tear of regret, it would’ve been a complete success, don’t you think?”
“Ugh, what kind of…!”
Seeing Lirisia’s severed arm reattach itself to her body, Menelapie glared at her in disbelief.
“What were you thinking…?!”
“What’s with the ‘you’? I’m not your Shia. I’m not Shia anymore. Now, I’m Lirisia. I’m allowed to pull a prank like this, right? It’s not like I crossed the line, right?”
“Of course, you crossed the line! Even if it’s a joke, how can you treat the pain of losing an arm as a mere prank?”
“Wow, you really are a hero. Even if you didn’t kill me, this was still a success. Your face full of regret and despair is really something to behold.”
Since Lirisia was no longer a saintess or even the Saintess of the Dead, she couldn’t use Great Healing, but the malevolent energy ingrained in her body was still one with her.
As her severed arm reattached itself like mud being reconstructed, Lirisia chuckled.
Her smile carried the same mischievous glint as Shia’s.
Same face, but a bit crueler. A darker expression, too.
“Oh, if Menelapie had killed me, it wouldn’t have been obsession, would it? That’s too bad.”