Emilone’s Temptation Labyrinth – Chapter 95

T/N: Two more chapters will soon be on the way after this then another tomorrow. Enjoy.

–

The moment I opened the door and stepped inside, the smell of staleness struck me, and I covered my nose. I didn’t remember it smelling like this before…

For some reason, all the lights were turned off, leaving the surroundings pitch black.

With no other choice, I had to rely on my good eyesight to walk down, and after descending just a few steps, my body flinched when I stepped on something squishy, and I looked down.

“Ugh…!”

As soon as I saw what it was, I flinched.
Unconsciously, I stepped back and turned around, trembling.

The door was already closed behind me, and I could possibly bring myself to go back up.

“This is… unbelievable. Seriously.”

Unable to accept what I saw, I clenched my fists tightly. What I had stepped on was none other than a corpse.

A human corpse.

Given the foul odor, it must’ve been dead for quite some time. It lay there, staring into the ceiling with its eyes wide open.

“Ah…”

It was such a horrifying sight that no ordinary person could see this and remain calm. The body was so shriveled that it looked like one of the corpses I had seen earlier in the forest.

I felt like I was going to see more of this, the further down I went. And as if the universe wanted to prove me right, the deeper I descended, the more corpses there were.

“…I’m sorry I’m late.”

In the end, I could only say those words as I stepped around the corpses and continued down.

* * *

When I finally reached the door, I barely managed to let out the breath I had been holding. I held back the tears that had welled up in my confused mind.

My heart wasn’t ready to see scenes like that yet. I couldn’t bring myself to open the door and my hand trembled on the doorknob.

I didn’t want to open it.

Even as I shook off the filthy aura creeping onto my body, I couldn’t find the courage to turn the door knob.

“Haa…”

If Reneben or Alois were here, I might have been a little braver.

I would have opened the door like I wasn’t affected at all. But right now, I was alone, and I had to open this door. There was no one around to force my hand to open the door.

“Please… let this be the last time.”

In the end, I had to open the door myself. I really needed a lot of courage.

To think it took so much emotional energy just to open a single door. Cold sweat ran down my back, and finally, I shut my eyes and pushed the door open.

“Lady Saintess. You’ve troubled yourself coming all this way.”

Through the now-wide open door, a pure white light greeted me.

As if to reward me for coming down the dark stairs, a clean and bright space welcomed me. Snacks and refreshments were spread out like someone was in the middle of a pleasant conversation.

“…Urk.”

As I stepped inside and closed the door, my face twisted at the sight.

Just behind me lay a pile of corpses, and yet here they were, enjoying tea like none of that mattered.

The man who had teleported Alois and I was seated at the tea table.

The middle-aged man looked at me while I stood at the door and burst into laughter like he found something amusing.

“I didn’t think you’d ignore those corpses and come down here.”

“I thought catching you all came first.”

I had long since erased the twisted expression from my face. Before becoming the Saintess, I was an actress.

I wiped away any trace of pain or sorrow, and with a calm exterior, I exuded ease from my fingertips, like none of this was a big deal.

“Is that so? Well then, welcome.”

The middle-aged man let out a seasoned laugh and spun around in his chair.

As if I was annoyed by that sight, I reached down and pulled out a small dagger.

From this point on, I had to paint an image of myself. I could tell from the man’s expression that he would strike at the sign of any opening on my end.

I swung the dagger in my hand. His composure was real, while the composure I was giving off was fake.

There had to be a reason why he was so relaxed.

“You claim to welcome me…and yet you’re still seated down.”

“Haa…Lady Saintess, right now you—”

“I won’t be repeating myself. Ah, but… if you truly believe you’ll be fine ignoring my words then you can stay seated.”

I curled my lips casually like I was mocking him.

I held the sharp blade out, my arms crossed. I didn’t drop my guard, acting as if that I was ready to strike at any moment.

“A Saintess is making threats. How refreshing.”

Right, the woman who was sitting in front of the middle-aged man opened her mouth.

Her white dress and black hair was eye-catching, but since she had her back to me so I couldn’t see her face.

I’ve heard that voice somewhere before…

I paused, but right before my mind could wander, the man stood up.

“Haha, I thought you would think so. I’ve never heard of a Saintess carrying a sword either.”

While the man seemed to be mocking me, I nodded as if I agreed.

“My thoughts exactly. The previous Saints were strange. I mean, why wouldn’t they use such a convenient weapon? After all,…people like you are best subdued with force.”

The physical abilities of a Saint were nothing to scoff at. If they used a sword, they could handle it as freely as someone who had trained for years and yet they chose not to use it?

The saints before me probably didn’t even realize they had this kind of talent. I couldn’t help think it was a shame and smacked my lips.

“And your mouth is sharp too. Truly refreshing.”

The woman spoke again.

Of course, if I just stood there and listened, I wouldn’t be me.

“Oh my. Shall I be package it more elegantly for you?”

That aside…

A dark aura was surging from the man. Inwardly, I swallowed carefully but I acted like this situation posed no threat to me.

“And you, young miss? You two are clearly on the same side, aren’t you?”

Considering the two of them had been casually enjoying tea together.

I sniffed the air and sure enough, a familiar scent brushed past my nose.

Could it be…? A face flashed in my mind, but I found it hard to believe..

Shaking off the useless thought, I focused again on the middle-aged man in front of me. As I gazed at him sharply like a prowler watching its prey, he waved his hand dismissively.

“You’re looking at me like you’re waiting to pounce.”

“Because you’re my prey. I’m here to catch you after all.”

“What an amusing thing to say.”

The man shook his head side to side, then glanced at the woman beside him who was calmly munching on a cookie.

“I’m not the one you should be catching, Lady Saintess.”

“…Hm?”

I blinked and tilted my head, as if to say, ‘what are you talking about now?’.

My hair fell in front of my face, irritating me and I swiftly tied it back into a bun.

Then I turned my gaze to the black-haired woman who exuded the aura of a noble, and whose back was still facing me.

“So, I should be after this person here?”

“Indeed. She is our light and our savior.”

The woman let out a laugh, as if she found it amusing. Really…I couldn’t help but be reminded of someone.

I felt like I already knew who she was, but I didn’t open my mouth.

“Thanks to this person, we have been given life. Ah…Even if you are the Saintess, you will not be able to overcome Our savior.”

The man, as if entranced, approached the woman, knelt down, and kissed the back of her hand.

Watching this strangely unsettling scene, I opened my mouth.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to drive a knife in your back if you keep that up.”

I spun the blade in my hand, as if to prove my point.

“As long as this person is here, you will not be able to.”

His cheeks were flushed, and his eyes were practically glued to the woman.

I took a slow step forward, and one of my shoes, the one slightly larger than my foot, slipped off.

“Then, shall I test whether that’s true or not?”

In the end, I kicked off my shoes and let out a sneer. Either way, he was a dark mage.

The mission given to the Saintess was to protect and defend the people. To coexist with royalty and create a better world.

And to protect the people from groups like these.

Groups that have abandoned their humanity. Nothing about them should make me hesitate.

In my eyes as a Saintess, his whole body was pitch-black. Filthy energy clung to him like a thick fog.

“Go ahead. As long as this person is here… as long as she is here…”

“Hmm.”

The woman, who had been listening to him, rested her chin in her hand and let out a sound as if weighing something. That indifferent tone, like she had lost interest, told me all I needed to know.

“Well… I guess I’ll know once I try?”

I always used to suspect this a long time ago. Whenever something happened, I had a feeling that the woman sitting over there was behind it.

Implicitly, I knew all along. However, I never expected that she might not even be ‘human’.

“Will ‘the person’ whom you blindly believe truly be worth your belief?”

“Of course. Our god always acts for the sake of others. They are far more fitting for the role of Saintess than someone like you.”

It doesn’t look like that to me though?

For a second, I wondered if all dark mages were this delusional. I dashed forward, grabbed the man by the collar and threw him back heavily.

I used a bit too much strength, and my hand tingled, so I shook out my wrist with a chuckle.

I didn’t bother turning my head to check the woman’s face, even though I only needed to move slightly to see it.

If I saw it, I felt like I wouldn’t be able to focus on the fight properly. I already knew in my heart, but I didn’t want to confirm it and throw myself into a daze.

“Attack me already. That way, I won’t feel guilty about erasing a thing wearing human skin.”

The corpses on the staircase were already more than enough to daze me.

“This is the justice bestowed onto the Saintess.”

“Justice? All you people from the temple are the same. You decide what’s justice on your own, you always, always turn away from the people then you go around throwing your power around and talking about god!”

The man threw back his head and started laughing as if he was tickled.

“You’re right. Our justice is defined by God. Harming people, disturbing order, going against the God’s will. All of those are acts that go against His justice.”

And as for the man in front of me, he had harmed others, thrown society into chaos, and even rebelled against the divine to become a dark magician.

“I find people like you ridiculous. Why do you choose to defy the God that created this world…”

Of course, God was ridiculous too. Always letting people like this live because they found it ‘interesting’.

“Do you know why God leaves people like you, who rebel against him, alive?”

More precisely, He probably found it amusing to see a Saintess placed in a situation where she had to eliminate people like these.

I let out a small groan and released divine power into the air around me.

“H-Heuk—”

“It’s because you’re not worth paying attention to.”

God has always been selfish. He made me a Saintess, read every bit of my inner thoughts, and still let things slide just because he found it amusing.

“It’s because he can use me to get rid of you. That’s why I have this power. That’s why this much power is given to a Saintess who’s only supposed to be merciful and protective of others. That’s all it is.”

Just by listening to a few of their chaotic oracles, I could tell what God’s nature was like.

“Now, if it hurts, let me see you pray. To your ‘god’ you speak of.”

The man clutched at his neck in agony but even then, he was grinning.

As if to say this was nothing.

“Quick…quickly, save me please. And kill this pathetic Saintess and make yourself the center of this world…”

“Ahh, enough, enough. Mm, that’s enough now.”

Finally, the woman spoke.

Whether it was the middle-aged man or I, if we touched each other in this current situation, one of us would end up at a disadvantage.

That’s why, earlier, when I caught him, I only grabbed his collar.

We were gauging each other from a certain distance and then I heard the clacking of heels.

Then, a warmth touched my shoulder.

“It has been a while, Lady Emilone.”