Chapter 42
The Saint of Healing was trying to improve the host's mental state.
Despite knowing full well that he could be hurt by the curse, he spent time laughing and chatting with the princess without wearing protective clothing, as if he had no fear at all.
Through the various magic circles installed in the separate palace, the evil god's Chosen One could vividly watch all those scenes.
What is the reason for doing that?
The intention became clear before long.
Due to being hit with holy magic once a week for 16 years, the connection between the fragment of the evil god and the host's soul had become very weak.
In its current state, there was a greater possibility that it would move to find a new host with whom it could connect more strongly to the soul and completely devour.
The saint was trying to transfer the fragment of the evil god to his own soul.
Even though it was obvious that no matter how much of a saint he was, he wouldn't be safe if the fragment of the evil god dwelled in his soul, he was acting as if to tempt the fragment of the evil god.
What kind of person is he?
Isn't he acting as if he has a way to deal with the fragment of the evil god even if it transfers to his soul?
When this fact was reported, the evil god cult ordered to urgently awaken the fragment of the evil god that wasn't even properly completed yet.
The Chosen One agreed with their opinion.
Although it meant awakening the fragment, which was obtained after paying too many sacrifices, in an incomplete state, it was better than being futilely annihilated without any effect after being caught by the saint.
The Chosen One waited until the saint left the separate palace.
And as soon as he left the separate palace, the Chosen One immediately took action.
Being the dawn hours, there weren't many people to deal with.
After simply killing one mage on duty, one priest, and two knights of the guard, the chosen one approached the separate palace.
The separate palace was full of all kinds of defense mechanisms in case the fragment of the evil god in Iomene's body went berserk.
He deactivated the sacred object set to automatically cast hundreds of miracles of destruction if the curse exceeded a certain level, and also deactivated dozens of defensive magic circles and miracles set to prevent the curse from flowing out of the separate palace to the outside of the imperial palace.
Of course, all this wasn't accomplished without a price.
The evil god's Chosen One had to consume an enormous amount of resentment.
It was the resentment that maintained the miracle of concealment, which could be called the lifeline cast on the Chosen One’s body.
Originally, the Collector would have gathered and brought additional needed resentment, but she had died and disappeared, so there was no other choice.
After taking all those measures, the chosen one entered the separate palace.
Princess Iomene, sleeping soundly on the bed with a happy face as if seeing it for the first time, came into the Chosen One's view.
When the Chosen One reached out and placed their hand on Princess Iomene's head, the fragment of the evil god sleeping in her soul began to react.
Due to periodic exposure to holy magic, the connection between the fragment and the soul, which should normally be firmly settled in the soul, had been weakened to a miserable degree.
In this state, even if the fragment was awakened, it could never exert its power in a complete form.
They were cruel, cruel people.
How could they make the choice to torture their own daughter for 16 years?
Even the evil god cult and the Chosen One hadn't expected it to go this far.
The evil god cult knew that the Emperor, while appearing strong on the outside, became infinitely weak when it came to family.
They chose Princess Iomene as the host because if they put the fragment of the evil god in an ordinary being, it was obvious that the White Order would remove the fragment even if it meant sacrificing that person's soul, so they needed a target whose soul the White Order would find difficult to destroy at will.
They expected that the affectionate Emperor, who could never order his daughter to be tortured, would confine Princess Iomene to a remote countryside.
The countryside would have been much easier for them to approach, and they could have nurtured the fragment of the evil god gradually there, then awakened it at the crucial moment.
By doing so, due to the characteristics of conjoined souls, they could have infiltrated not only Iomene but also Princess Almene, whose soul was connected, and instantly unleashed the curse in the middle of Mars City, the capital.
It was obvious that the empire would never be able to react if the perfectly fine Princess Almene suddenly became the source of the curse one day.
But the Emperor made the cruel decision to torture his daughter for 16 years, and this was how it ended up.
Moreover, due to the appearance of the Saint of Healing, they were forced to awaken it about 2 years earlier than planned.
It was a mess.
It was obvious that even if the fragment of the evil god awakened, its structure would be excessively unstable.
But what could they do?
There was no other choice.
"Awaken."
At the chosen one's words, the fragment of the evil god parasitizing the soul began to exert its power.
Intense curses started pouring out through the wings.
Although it was in an excessively unstable state that could shatter at the slightest shock, its power was transcendent as they had heard.
Eerie screams.
A bizarre and terrible sensation as if scratching the soul.
Along with that, curses of overwhelming power began to pour out into the world.
It was the beginning of destruction.
***
The situation became more serious as I got closer to the imperial palace.
"Urgh!! Aaargh!!"
"Save me!! Save me!!"
Many people had been hit by the curse and were convulsing on the ground.
"Hurry!! Hurry! Pull out those hit by the curse and heal them!!"
While the priests of the Grace Order who had followed me were healing the sick, I was frantically running towards the imperial palace.
The moment the imperial palace came into view in the distance, I immediately activated Time Stop.
I wanted to activate it the moment I felt the curse bursting out from the Magic Tower temple, but if I had done that, I would have fainted from completely exhausting my mental power before even reaching near Iomene.
So activating Time Stop at this distance was the best I could do.
Please, let her soul not be destroyed yet.
Please, let Iomene still be alive.
While making a wish that seemed to have no possibility even to myself, I repeatedly partially released and reactivated Time Stop, moving as quickly as possible towards the separate palace, and as a result.
I saw Iomene's figure flying high into the sky, breaking through the roof of the separate palace in the distance.
Dozens of eyeballs had grown on the wings that had grown on her back, looking down at the ground.
Up to that point was still okay.
What made me despair was something else.
A cruel smile I had never seen before was on Iomene's face.
An ecstatic yet terrible smile that only someone who mocked and blasphemed the world and harbored resentment against all living things could make.
Iomene had completely died.
Her body was there, but her soul had been completely devoured by the fragment of the evil god.
Why?
Why go this far?
I don't know who cast the curse, but why go so far when a woman who had never been happy even once was just starting to recover a little?
Anger.
An anger that made me feel like I was going crazy rose up.
I started walking on air using the stopped space-time as a foothold, just like at the factory last time.
As I approached Iomene floating in the air.
My mental power was almost exhausted.
This damn efficiency, really.
What should I do?
There was still about 3 meters left to completely approach Iomene.
If I release the Time Stop in this state, I'd fall.
After desperately racking my brain, I came up with one solution.
I released the Time Stop on the world.
While maintaining Time Stop only on the space under my feet.
This way, I could minimize mental power consumption while still standing in the air.
As soon as Time Stop was released, an unimaginable eeriness gripped my entire body.
The feeling of scratching the soul itself had now changed to a terribleness and disgust that made me want to vomit.
I wasn’t sure how to express this.
But it felt like my soul itself was telling me.
That it could be destroyed.
That if even a little of that black fog-like curse scattered around Iomene's body entered, my soul would be shattered and disappear.
I could feel my soul trembling madly in fear, regardless of my will.
But no matter how much my soul feared, I wasn't afraid of that black fog at all.
It was a fresh experience to have my mind and soul disagree for the first time.
Soul destruction?
It's a trip to Korea.
It's a return to a safe and happy space where there's no fear of hell at all.
I straightened my back proudly.
And I looked straight at the fragment of the evil god taking Iomene's form.
The fragment of the evil god also looked at me while spewing out an enormous amount of curses from both wings.
[Die!]
[Destroy!]
[Annihilation!]
The fragment of the evil god giggled like a child while spewing out simple words in a bizarre voice.
I hoped for a miracle, but there was no miracle.
Iomene was gone.
Tears flowed from my eyes without me realizing.
I unfastened my belt and held it in my hand.
I walked through the air using the time-stopped space as a foothold, approaching the fragment of the evil god.
The fragment mocked me.
[You'll die too!!]
[You're going to die too!]
[I'll eat you too!]
[Eat! Eat!]
The curse focused on my body.
But I didn't care.
You can destroy my soul.
Destroy it as much as you want.
In return, I'll hit you just once, really just once.
I'm okay with dying, so I'll hit you just once.
The distance between me and the fragment of the evil god started to get closer and closer.
A voice that sounded confused finally flowed from the mouth of the fragment of the evil god that was mocking and ridiculing.
[Why?]
[Aren't you afraid?]
The pitch-black fog wrapped around my body even more meticulously.
My soul was now trembling at a level of having a seizure, beyond just being afraid.
It was trembling at a level of struggling, saying, ”I'm going to be shattered, you idiot!!”
But I didn't care.
With a nosebleed dripping due to the aftermath of forcibly using Time Stop, I gripped the belt in my right hand even more tightly.
This was an advance payment from the fragment of the evil god's perspective.
I don't care if I fail.
If I fail, it's a trip to Korea.
If I succeed, I can inflict proper pain on that fucking fragment of the evil god.
I couldn't feel any fear at all.
Right.
It doesn't matter.
Destroy me.
I'm telling you I'm not scared?
You can shatter my soul, but in return, just let me hit you once.
I'll really hit you just once.
[Strange! Strange!]
[Stronger! Stronger!]
The fragment of the evil god now started to visibly panic.
The black energy became even denser.
I could feel the curses sprinkled on the bodies of numerous people on the ground leaving them and concentrating around my body.
But still, nothing happened.
You fucking son of a bitch.
I'll make you experience the most terrible pain that exists in the world.
When the distance between us became less than 1 meter, fear finally appeared on the fragment's face.
[Don't come closer!!]
The fragment flapped its wings as if trying to escape, but no chance.
I cast Time Stop on the foot part of the escaping fragment.
I rushed towards the one that stopped as if nailed in the air, unable to escape.
And I put my hand on its body and activated a skill.
[Activating skill 3000x Sensitivity!]
Last time, I couldn't cast skills on the fragment of the evil god, but this time the skill worked.
Didn't it say it was a skill that could only be cast on living beings?
You made a mistake.
Fragment of the evil god.
If you had just remained a parasite parasitizing a soul, the skill wouldn't have worked like this.
Now Iomene's body is your body.
The pain felt from that body is naturally your pain too.
"The pain that Iomene felt in installments for 16 years. I'll make you feel it in a lump sum payment this time."
[N-no!! No!!!]
"Yes!!"
The belt was swung.
With a crisp sound of whack, Iomene's cheek swelled and several pieces of corn burst out.
And.
[Urgh...!! Uwaaaaah!! Aaaaah!]
The fragment of the evil god started screaming.