C171
As soon as I recognized the person outside the door as Liena, my thoughts became confused.
"Liena?"
How could Liena be here, imprisoned in the Grand Temple's prison?
As the idea that this was impossible crossed my mind, I thought of Terence, who had left this room a moment ago.
If he really left because something went wrong at the Temple... Is Liena the cause?
I quickly looked out the window.
It was to check the escape route.
I don't know the details of the process, but if Liena had the power to breach the strict security of the Grand Temple and the Imperial Palace, it was better to avoid her.
"What is that...?"
But then something that looked like a black band that I had never seen before caught my attention.
The black band stretched along the edge of the annex's backyard.
Perhaps the entire annex was surrounded by it.
"It seems this is already their territory."
Lucy growled, the fur all over her body bristling.
"You mean them?"
"This is the demonic energy emitted by monsters. But it's not just demonic energy; it's mixed with the power of the Evil God."
Evil God? Then, does that mean Liena escaped from the Grand Temple due to the intervention of the Evil God?
"Could it be that Liena is the apostle of the Evil God?"
Just as the goddess Miella chose Liena and me, the Evil God also chooses a being to represent it on earth.
However, the apostle of the Evil God who appears in "Return and Walk on a Path of Flowers" was someone else.
Did the choices of the Evil God also change because I participated in the development of the novel?
"Ethel."
Meanwhile, Liena's voice was heard again from beyond the door.
"I understand you don't want to see me. I would do the same. But I finally realized my mistake. So, although it's late, I want to apologize."
Apology was not a word that the Liena I knew would utter.
"Teacher, first talk and guide that human inside."
At that moment, Lucy whispered so only I could hear her.
"That person is probably directing the monster."
The divine beast's body began to glow blue.
"I'll handle it when it arrives."
This meant that if we left this place, we would eventually have to defeat Liena, the leader.
I nodded and responded to what Liena said.
"Do you want to apologize to me? Are you serious?"
"Yes!"
"... fine. I'll listen. The door is open, so come in."
Only then did the door open.
As soon as Liena's silver hair caught her attention, Lucy leaped as fast as lightning.
"Ugh!"
But the next moment, Lucy's small body collapsed to the floor.
In the blink of an eye, a black figure appeared next to Liena and slapped Lucy with its arm.
It had two arms and two legs like a human, but its surface was smooth as if made of black dough.
When Lucy got up and her body glowed again, the black figure also prepared to attack.
"Lucy!"
"Enough, Shadow."
Liena and I stopped them almost simultaneously.
"Shadow..."
I knew that name because I saw it in the novel.
It's the strongest monster in the novel "Return and Walk on a Path of Flowers," and it was the enemy that Liena and her group barely defeated in the final battle against the apostle of the Evil God.
Naturally, my body trembled, and my heart beat fast.
It's dangerous. For now, we didn't have the ability to face Shadow.
In the novel, after certain conditions were met, Shadow was defeated only after receiving the joint attack of Liena, Mikhail, Matisse, and the divine beast.
We didn't have the conditions, and in Lucy's case, she couldn't show her full strength.
Moreover, the power consumed during the verification of sanctity had not fully recovered yet.
I racked my brains desperately, recalling the content of the novel.
"Shadow definitely hated divine power more than other monsters..."
If it emitted divine power, it might make it impossible for it to approach for a while.
"What if I escape in the meantime? Is that black band also a skill of the Shadows? Then, would it be possible to pierce through it with divine power?"
But it would chase me even from afar. How far should I flee?
"Oh, damn it!"
It would have been easier to escape after becoming invisible due to the effect of the leather belt, but unfortunately, the belt was stored in the closet.
If I had known something like this would happen, I would always have had the belt tied around my waist, whether I was sleeping or not.
"Hey, Ethel."
At that moment, Liena spoke to me.
"We don't have any intention of fighting you. You don't have to be too cautious. Shadow only hurt your friend to protect me. I don't attack first."
"... really?"
"I told you before. I came to apologize to you. Why would I attack you?"
As I continued to silently stare at Liena, her eyebrows furrowed.
"I'm sorry. Is he seriously injured?"
"......"
When I saw Liena apologizing meekly, I felt goosebumps all over my body.
Still, as she said, there didn't seem to be any immediate signs of harming us, so I decided to talk to Liena first.
Since there are many uncertainties in many ways, it would be better to stop fleeing and unleash divine power as a last resort.
"Well. Let's talk."
"Are you serious?"
"Before that, I need to make sure everyone else is okay. If you really didn't intend to fight me, you wouldn't have hurt the people guarding this place, right?"
"Of course. I put them to sleep for a while. I've decided now that I won't do anything to make you hate me."
Liena said that and walked out the door.
I kept my distance from Liena, left the room, and headed to the next room where Vinetta was staying.
She was lying on the floor holding the sword.
"Thank God."
I sighed in relief when I confirmed that Vinetta's breathing was stable.
Several members of the Imperial Knights lay in the hallway and, like Vinetta, seemed to be unconscious and not in any significant danger to their lives.
A moment ago, my heart sank because I was afraid everyone would die because of me.
"Well, there's one thing you need to know."
When I returned to the room, Liena hesitated and opened her mouth.
"What?"
"The Empress is dead."
"What?!"
"It wasn't me! Trust me!"
As my voice grew louder, Liena became restless and spoke as an excuse.
"Shadow did this when he took me out of the Grand Temple, but I told him not to kill people by accident, so I won't do it again."
"......"
"Oh, and the emperor is alive. Fortunately, I stopped Shadow before he could kill him. But he's quite injured, so it might be difficult to handle state affairs now…"
No, what does all this mean?
My mind couldn't keep up with what Liena said.
"Is that why Terence went to the Temple?"
I understand why he didn't fully believe the information Jack brought him.
If he had heard that a monster suddenly appeared in the temple and killed the empress who was there, he wouldn't have believed it easily.
The story of a monster invading the main temple, said to be protected by a goddess like no other place, was like a bolt out of the blue.
"I'm sorry! Ethel!"
Suddenly, Liena fell to her knees on the floor.
"I did everything wrong. You treated me so carefully, but I got obsessed with inferiority and greed, so I betrayed you and took what was yours."
Tears welled up in Liena's eyes.
"I know. No amount of words can compensate for the mistakes I've made. I won't ask you to forgive me. Because I know I don't deserve it."
"Liena…"
I had a strange feeling because I never expected to hear Liena's apology.
To be honest, my first doubt was whether it was a sincere apology.
But I can't say it's insincere, since I don't know why Liena, who has so much pride, would kneel before me.
"Why?"
If Liena, who controls Shadow, had gotten her way, there was a high probability that she would have died right here.
In other words, if I had to guess which side was in the unfortunate position, it was me.
But Liena said something unexpected.
"But I found a way to atone that will be more helpful to others than being executed like this."
How to atone?
"I'm stopping the wave of monsters."
"... What does that mean?"
"As you may have guessed, the Evil God chose me. As the apostle of the Evil God, I gained the ability to control various monsters, including Shadow."
It seemed so.
"The wave of monsters must be directed by the evil apostles. But I can't bring myself to do that. In order to stop the monster wave."
Does the apostle of the Evil God go against the will of the Evil God and want to stop the wave of monsters?
It was a possibility I had never thought of before, so I thought about it for a moment and then spoke.
"Is that really possible?"
"Eh?"
"Is the wave of monsters determined by your will? Will the Evil God simply keep silent and watch?"
"You don't have to worry. Ethel, are you currently controlled by Goddess Miella? Then, are you stopping the Evil God who wants to destroy the world?"
"... That's not it."
"The Goddess cannot directly intervene in the will or the life and death of creatures. Think about it carefully. So far, Goddess Miella has intervened indirectly with us."
That's what I heard and saw.
So far, the goddess had given blessings or allowed people to encounter divine beasts, but nothing more than that.
"What Miella and the Evil God can do is limited. That's why they leave the rest to us."
Liena seemed to have acquired prior knowledge that I didn't know after being chosen by the Evil God.
"... Then why did the Evil God choose you? Do you think the Goddess didn't know you'd end up like this?"
"The Goddess doesn't even know exactly the future. We, the creatures, weave the thread of possibilities."
I don't know if that's true, but I decided to be honest.
"Liena, do you really not plan to provoke a monster wave?"
"Of course not. Why? Do you think I'll blame the world?"
"If I'm blunt, yes."
"You're right. I actually hate this world a lot. But you like it, don't you?"
"There are things I don't like, but I don't want it to disappear."
"Then I'll stop the wave of monsters. I hate the world, but I don't want you to hate me anymore."
Liena got up from her seat.
"But I know. This is just my opinion. Maybe what you really want is not for me to stay alive and stop the wave of monsters, but for me to pay for my sins by dying."
"That…"
"Then Ethel, you decide. If you tell me to die, I'll quietly go back and be executed. I swear."
A pair of red eyes turned to me.
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