A Runaway Villainess, Now Healing In An Enemy Country - Chapter 87

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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【Chapter 87】

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There’s a limit to how much misfortune can pile up at once.

No matter what, I never expected to be greeted by a magi-tainted Noaren the moment I arrived in Drens.

I called Jepi, and it took less than ten minutes to reach Drens with Davuer using his ability.

‘But what kind of fresh chaos is this?’

However, being flustered by an unexpected situation only lasted as long as it took to recognize it. The moment I grasped the magi, I immediately ran over and began purification.

This was my first time purifying someone ‘tainted by magi’ who was in the process of becoming a vermin, rather than an actual ‘vermin.’

Fortunately, there were no problems. As soon as my divinity touched him, the magi quickly disappeared from Noaren.

“Irene…”

Noaren pronounced my name like a groan. It sounded as if no other words could come out.

He knelt there motionless, staring up at me blankly. His red eyes, mixed with all sorts of emotions in chaos, were chillingly unfamiliar.

I somewhat hastily withdrew my hand from him and approached the Daesingwan standing nearby, pouring out my words.

“…This is your doing, isn’t it?”

I had no concrete evidence.

However, the cause of Noaren’s sudden magi contamination definitely lay with him. It was a conclusion reached through simple but clear intuition.

“It was your doing before too, wasn’t it?”

For instance, guiding vermin to ‘cross over’ from the contaminated region, or being involved in the vermin incident that occurred in the mountain range.

My sharpened instincts pointed directly at him.

Well, now that I’m facing him directly, I can tell at a glance.

The man before me bore traces of a god that couldn’t be any clearer. His entire body was screaming that he was a vessel containing corrupted divinity.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Ezekiel pretended to be somewhat exaggeratedly surprised.

“More importantly, who are you? You just purified magi, didn’t you? That’s an achievement impossible for anyone but the Countess.”

“…What are you scheming?”

“The gazes toward you, who displayed such a wonderful miracle, are intense. How about removing your robe and revealing your name?”

He pointed behind me with a bright smile.

Even without his kind indication, I could clearly feel the stares piercing through the back of my head.

If it hadn’t been for the magi, I had no intention of making such a flashy entrance. Though various thoughts tangled complexly, I immediately prioritized Ezekiel.

Focusing all my nerves on understanding him. Knowing what he had done and what he intended to do. Considering what would happen to the god if I used divinity on him now.

That was most important, so I didn’t look back.

“You’re hearing the god’s voice even now, aren’t you? Why don’t you let me know what it’s saying too.”

“Unfortunately, that would be difficult. However.”

Suddenly, Ezekiel whispered in a voice only I could hear. A hint of pleasure flickered across his face, which was covered with a gentle smile.

“You’ll need to show more miracles.”

Immediately after, magi erupted simultaneously from behind me. I heard scattered screams of people gasping and the sound of swords being dropped in succession.

The moment I turned around in shock, I knew immediately. The entire search party was suddenly being tainted by magi.

Ezekiel smiled broadly.

“You’ll have to purify them, won’t you? Before someone becomes a vermin. If you don’t want to, shall I do it instead?”

“You crazy bastard…”

What kind of rampage is this on someone else’s land?

I swallowed my curse along with the rage rising from my core. My bewilderment was brief, and my judgment was swift.

The search party consisted of thirty people in total. A blizzard created by divine magic in an instant swept over them.

Whoosh!

My hood fell back in that fierce wind, revealing my face, but I didn’t care. If I had intended to keep my identity completely hidden, I wouldn’t have thought of coming here in the first place.

And this level of purification is nothing special.

When the wind subsided, I felt a brief moment of light dizziness and staggered slightly. It probably wasn’t just due to the aftermath of the divine magic.

And for good reason.

“…Good grief.”

Right now, at this moment, the entire scene before my eyes was frozen as if time had stopped.

The movements of my people in the area, the shape of clothes blown by the wind, and even the birds flying across the sky.

I swept my hair back as if holding my head and laughed fiercely.

“What exactly are you trying to do…?”

Was their sudden magi contamination a precursor to this strange phenomenon? Or was it my purification? The evil god’s scheme? There were too many possibilities to consider, yet none at all.

Then Ezekiel smoothly leaned his head toward me. With his hands clasped behind his back, he slightly lowered his eye level and suggested as if asking for a stroll.

“I’ve seen your excellent magic. Now, shall we have a conversation for a moment,”

“Hey. What exactly are you trying to do with me?”

Grab!

I immediately seized his collar and used my divinity.

The white light of divinity from my fingertips flashed sharply, but not a single crack appeared on Ezekiel’s face.

He spoke calmly.

“I don’t have the ability to stop time. Right now, your and my consciousness have simply been temporarily separated from the world.”

“…”

“Do you know? When divinities collide, gaps form in the world, and at this time, consciousness that recognizes the gaps breaks free from the limitations of the body…”

“You talk too much.”

In other words, this place is my consciousness world.

Once I accepted that, the scenery instantly changed to what I desired. I stood on a deep blue sea that stretched endlessly.

“As expected, it’s good that you understand quickly. But how long do you plan to use divinity? It’s meaningless.”

Ezekiel laughed admiringly and gently pushed away my hand that was gripping his collar, continuing his words.

“Didn’t I say consciousness? What’s here is just me. The god didn’t come along.”

“If I ask where it went, will you answer?”

“I can tell you why people suddenly became tainted with magi. Aren’t you curious about such things?”

“…”

I released him with a push. Ezekiel, whose eyes crinkled as if this was a welcome sign of acceptance, spoke.

“Blessings given through divinity are kisses bestowed by the god. And all of them had received blessings before…”

Both the god and his divinity were corrupted. When such a being gave a kiss, it was a metaphor for being infected with corruption.

If we assume that the act of blessing was actually planting some kind of seed so the god could taint people with magi whenever desired.

“…Don’t tell me, at that inauguration ceremony?”

“Yes. Thanks to the Countess’s struggles, many people received the god’s blessing.”

The Daesingwan who had led that very temple event smiled as if he had the right answer. He kindly explained.

“There’s no problem until the god withdraws the blessing. But the moment it’s harvested, magi sprouts within the body.”

“Ha…”

“If not purified in time, they become vermin. Isn’t that truly frightening?”

My head was pounding so much that even curses wouldn’t come out.

Those who participated in Lishie’s inauguration ceremony that day were, with slight exaggeration, virtually all the influential figures within the Empire.

I was probably the only one who participated but didn’t receive it. The clerics foamed at the mouth in opposition.

But the blessing that everyone gladly received that day was actually an act of planting a time bomb in their bodies.

‘…This has become more complicated.’

I knew that corrupted divinity absorbed life force, but I never thought it could cause monsterification in this way.

Probably even Lishie, who directly gave the blessings, doesn’t know.

“Don’t worry. Making people fall into monsterification like that is a double-edged sword. The god would probably want to avoid it unless absolutely necessary.”

Ezekiel, with his consistently smiling face, rattled off as if reading my thoughts.

I looked at him with the feeling of seeing an alien. He seemed exactly like a man made of dissonance.

“You… what exactly are you?”

“Just a mere servant of god.”

How he knew such information as if it were natural, how much he knew, what intentions he had – everything was unclear.

Was he always like this? I can’t read his inner thoughts. The more I talked with him, the more this became true.

“Why are you giving me this information?”

“Because information imbalance isn’t fair and square.”

His answer was quite benevolent.

…Right, at least I can tell he’s a madman.

Even though they were both vessels of god, he was fundamentally different from Lishie. If Lishie was a tool for god, this guy was something more than that…

Perhaps he had been behind god even before becoming a vessel. Otherwise, his attitude and actions couldn’t be explained.

Ezekiel clapped lightly and clasped his hands together.

“Well, that’s all for today. If you visit the Grand Temple later, I’ll tell you more secrets.”

He dangles bait before me and promises a next time. As if now isn’t the proper time to clash head-on.

The meaning of this is the most blatant among all the words he’s spouted so far. Isn’t all this trouble just to lure me to the Citadel?

“…So you’re saying you’re going to run away now that you’ve finished your business?”

I can’t let him go so obediently.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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