I’m Trapped in a Bloody Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 137

The wardrobe that had been moved to Theodora’s room proved to be incredibly useful. I spent my nights inside the wardrobe in Theodora’s room.

The night before the selection ceremony was no different. I visited Theodora’s room in the evening. She had been busy running around all day, handling my requests, but tonight, she had returned earlier than me and had fallen into a light sleep at her desk.

Her breathing was rough, as if she were having a nightmare.

“Theodora, Priest?”

“…Hngh!”

“Priest? What’s wrong?”

Worried, I approached Theodora. Her scrunched-up expression did not look normal.

I felt bad for waking her, but I shook her shoulder. With a gasp, Theodora shot up from her seat.

“Ha-Haniel.”

“Priest, breathe, breathe!”

She had jolted up so violently that her chair tipped over. Desperately gasping for air, she called my name, her face deathly pale.

Her trembling hand moved toward me.

“Priest, what are you doing?”

“Stay still.”

“Why are you using holy power on me…?”

“I told you to stay still, there’s no time to explain…!”

Without any explanation, Theodora transferred her holy power to me.

It was a small amount—so little that it barely affected me. But it was nearly all of the holy power that Theodora possessed.

I pushed her hand away, remembering my brother’s pale face.

“People who wield holy power die if they use it all up. Priest Theodora, you just used almost all of yours on me.”

“You mustn’t stop me. There’s no time to explain. I have to do this, or things won’t unfold as I saw…”

Clutching my hand desperately, Theodora’s voice was urgent.

Even when I tried to push her away, my small frame was no match for an adult’s strength. I had no choice but to accept Theodora’s holy power into my body.

Theodora continued transferring her holy power until she was on the brink of death.

“El joined hands with Zoro. It was El who killed Lord Orias.”

“What…?”

“Zoro has no intention of letting you live. You will die at El’s selection ceremony.”

“Priest Theodora, please speak more slowly.”

“There’s no time. Very soon… No, it’s already… Hide, Haniel.”

Theodora, who had been watching the clock, suddenly stumbled and shoved me into the wardrobe.

I was still processing her words, so I didn’t resist and allowed myself to be pushed inside.

Through the small gap left open, I saw Theodora staggering toward the door.

I watched in confusion as I tried to organize my thoughts.

Before the door even opened, Theodora shouted.

She seemed to know exactly who was coming in.

“Priest Zoro!”

“You knew I would come? So you really did use that ability?”

Zoro stepped inside, twisting his lips in mockery. Even though his name had been called before he entered, his expression showed no sign of surprise.

“Do you think making a Pope with your own hands will make you a High Priest? You will face judgment in the end.”

“Your ability to spit curses with every word remains unchanged. Weren’t you the same, trying to secure a position by taking charge of their education? It was never going to be enough with that flimsy holy power of yours.”

Zoro muttered to himself, his breathing heavy with resentment.

Why was he so angry?

High Priest? Was that position really so important? Did Zoro use El just to gain that title?

Then what about El? Why did El accept his proposal? Did he want to become Pope so badly?

Haniel’s thoughts continued ceaselessly.

‘He wanted to be Pope so desperately that he was willing to kill my brother. The position mattered more to him than we did.’

The moment I reached that conclusion, rage toward Orias surged within me.

‘Was he planning to use us just like Priest Zoro?’

Yes. Thinking back, he had acted indifferent toward us from the very beginning.

It had been entirely my decision to bring him along.

‘If I hadn’t suggested bringing El, my brother would still be alive.’

Haniel’s resentment toward Orias extended to blaming herself.

I bit my finger as I watched Zoro and Theodora. Through the narrow gap, I saw Theodora gesturing subtly for me to stay hidden.

I stopped biting my finger, going completely still. A terrible sense of foreboding ran down my spine, making every hair on my body stand on end.

“Priest Theodora!”

“Don’t… You mustn’t…”

By the time I burst out of the wardrobe, it was too late. Theodora collapsed to the floor, her throat pierced by Zoro’s sword.

Her groan was faint, her voice barely audible. It was as if she had already foreseen this outcome—her devastated eyes met mine. Before long, the light in her gaze faded completely.

I didn’t even notice Zoro watching me. I rushed to Theodora’s side.

“Priest…?”

“Lady Haniel, so you were here. That saves me the trouble of looking for you.”

As I blankly reached for Theodora’s fallen form, Zoro struck me over the head. Everything went dark.

***

“A sacrifice ritual has been added, Orias.”

Zoro’s voice was calm as he made his announcement right before the selection ceremony.

Orias, who had been busily preparing, frowned at his words. “You never mentioned a ritual involving a human sacrifice.”

“Of course not. If you were a proper Pope candidate, such a ritual wouldn’t be necessary.”

“…Priest Zoro. You seem to forget too often that I am a Pope candidate. Show me proper respect from now on, even when we’re alone.”

“If that is what you wish, then naturally, I must comply. Understood, Lord Orias.”

Zoro smirked and bowed mockingly.

Orias asked in a flat tone, “The sacrifice—is it an animal?”

“Yes. It would be better for you to think of it that way.”

“…So, it’s a person. The temple permits human sacrifice?”

“They will be dressed in animal hides. To your eyes, it will look like nothing more than a deer, so you needn’t worry.”

“As if I care. Just make sure the blade is sharp. It would be troublesome if it didn’t cut properly.”

Killing an unknown person didn’t evoke any particular emotion in him. The people he cared about were already dead or too important to be sacrificed.

He answered indifferently and straightened his ceremonial robe.

***

“Mmhp!”

I woke up to a throbbing pain in my head.

I was trapped inside an animal hide that reeked of blood.

“Mmph!”

Outside, things were strangely noisy. I thought I heard Orias’s voice.

I struggled harder, but with the gag in my mouth, only muffled groans escaped.

My arms were tightly bound behind my back.

“This is the final ritual, Lord Orias. Offer the sacrifice and step back.”

“Yes.”

I hadn’t misheard. This was Orias’s pope selection ceremony.

“You must pierce the heart in one strike.”

Someone pressed down on my body through the thick hide as they spoke.

“If the sacrifice is not killed instantly, it will be considered an ill omen.”

‘El!’

I widened my eyes and called out to Orias.

The only response to my plea was the blade that pierced my heart in a single stroke, just as the priest had instructed.

***

Orias drove his sword into the sacrificial body covered in animal hide without hesitation.

Even though the small frame beneath the hide made it clear that the sacrifice was a child, he felt no guilt.

He plunged the sword deep—so deep that the hilt buried itself into the thick hide.

The body beneath the hide trembled violently, then went limp.

Orias slowly withdrew the sword.

As he did, the holy power that had been protecting Haniel dissipated. The brilliant glow of the powerful energy momentarily overwhelmed the onlookers.

The way the visible holy power moved toward Orias appeared to the priests as if he were receiving a blessing from God.

They erupted in cheers, declaring that Orias was the rightful Pope.

Amidst the commotion, only Orias stood frozen.

The holy power pouring into him from the sacrifice was disturbingly familiar. It felt exactly like the energy he had received when he had taken Haniel’s name.

“I killed the sacrifice, so why is the holy power…?”

Orias murmured with a trembling voice as he tore away the hide covering Haniel.

“Haniel?”

Just as he had intended, Haniel had been struck through the heart in a single blow. The gaping wound in her chest bled onto the altar.

“Lady Haniel!”

“W-what is going on? Why is Lady Haniel the sacrifice?”

“Priest Zoro! You were in charge of the sacrifice, weren’t you?”

The priests, realizing that the sacrifice was Haniel, cried out in horror.

Zoro, looking bewildered, rushed onto the altar. He shoved Orias aside and frantically examined Haniel’s body, his voice rising.

“No, I entrusted the preparations to Priest Theodora yesterday. How did this happen…?!”

“Priest Theodora is missing.”

“Find Priest Theodora!”

The priests who went searching for Theodora discovered her corpse in her room, along with a suicide note.

The note stated that she had foreseen, through her ability, a future where Orias would become the Pope.

Since she had realized that Haniel would not become Pope, she wrote in a disorganized manner about offering the child as a sacrifice to strengthen Orias’s power. She also claimed she would take her own life to atone for the sin of sacrificing a papal candidate.

[It was a choice for the revival of the Holy Kingdom.] The forged note was filled with such statements.

Strangely, the suicide note forged by Zoro could neither be burned nor soaked with water.

The priests considered this a sign of divine will and preserved the document with utmost care.

The fact that this document had gone missing was only discovered months before the Saintess, who had received a divine revelation, appeared at the temple.

***

<Information acquired.>

• ‘The Holy Kingdom’s Secret Document’
• A relic imbued with a small amount of Priest Theodora’s holy  power.

I stared at the system window that appeared in my darkened vision and thought.

‘What has happened to me?’

I had been stabbed through the heart, yet my consciousness remained intact.

A tear from Orias fell onto my cheek.

All of my holy power had already transferred to him. The only thing wrapping around my body now was the lingering holy power Theodora had left behind.

Holy power is the same as life force. That phrase echoed in my mind. Even though my holy power had flowed into Orias, something felt off because Theodora’s holy power still lingered within me.

If I tried to view this objectively, from the perspective of someone occupying Haniel’s body—Haniel’s body was dead, yet her consciousness remained intact. But in this state, I was no different from a dead person.

My mind was trapped inside an unmoving body, shifting uncomfortably.

‘Am I going to be stuck like this? Until Priest Theodora’s holy power fades away?’

Even Haniel seemed utterly shocked.

Not even minutes had passed since death, yet it already felt like my entire body was decaying. The sensation of my rotting body was enough to drive me mad.

Orias’s tears continued to fall onto my cheek. Through the unbearable discomfort, I tried to figure out what Theodora hadn’t been able to tell me.

‘I have to figure this out on my own. Neither the priest nor my brother can help me now.’

There must have been a reason why she had preserved my consciousness.

‘Priest Theodora had the ability to see the future, so there must be a purpose for why she did this to me.’

While I was lost in thought, trapped inside my dead body, I was moved to the sacrificial chamber for preservation.