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The Monster Lady and the Holy Knight - Chapter 99

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  2. The Monster Lady and the Holy Knight
  3. Chapter 99
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I killed the pope.

 

“My child, there is no need to be startled by the sound of cannons. It is merely a Bahamut attack, just as you once prophesied.”

 

I killed the pope.

 

“A prophecy, yes. Ever since that prophecy, I have been watching you closely. Earlier, you asked if showing you that book was an act of mercy before your death? No, it was not. I was simply curious—how did you come to know the secret of the wilderness?”

 

His glistening eyes showed no fear of the Bahamut whatsoever. The terror he had displayed before was not directed at them—it stemmed from the absence of God. The old pope was the kind of man who would be satisfied even if his limbs were devoured, so long as he could die a martyr. He had pursued God with unwavering devotion.

 

“Yet your reaction was that of someone reading an accurate record for the first time. You looked utterly shocked. It proves that your prophecy was not merely smoke and mirrors but the truth. It means that you, indeed, have ‘God’ within you.”

 

Crunch.

As memories surged through her, Veronica squeezed her eyes shut. Her heart pounded so violently it felt like it might burst. Her hands and feet trembled uncontrollably. This was not the first time she had killed someone. Benjamin, the robber, the imperial knight. But this time… this time was different.

“I made a terrible mistake.”

Even Leon might turn his back on me.

“His Holiness…”

“Veronica.”

Leon took a step forward, interrupting her words as he cupped her face. The cool scent of him brushed against the tip of her nose.

He whispered calmly, “Breathe properly first.”

Veronica lifted her empty eyes to meet his gaze, which held only her within them.

The wind stopped.

The explosions in the distance faded away. As her breathing slowly steadied, her raw nerves began to settle. She clenched her fists tightly to hold back the tears threatening to spill.

What was I thinking?

We’ve come this far—there’s no way he would turn away now.

“I… I killed His Holiness the Pope. He wanted to take my head. He was convinced that I must have God within me, that if he beheaded me, God would return to the wilderness.”

Leon’s face hardened, but that was all. Even after hearing such shocking words, he did not remove his hands from her. Veronica clung to his warmth as she pieced together the bloodstained memories.

“So, he ordered the executioners to cut off my head… I wasn’t trying to kill him. I was just trying to stop them… But things didn’t go as planned. I grabbed a sword and ran, collided with Oscar on the stairs, and ended up outside. I jumped onto a wagon loaded with weapons… Then, the Holy See caught fire.”

Even as she spoke, it felt surreal. That ghostly, deranged expression—one could never understand it without witnessing it firsthand. The pope had longed for God. He had loved God more than anyone. Confronted with the fulfillment of his lifelong wish, Veronica had recoiled in horror. She had never intended to kill him. Not even when the towering executioners grabbed her arms and raised their axes.

She had only struggled to survive, never imagining that the axe she deflected would fly into the pope’s skull.

It was an accident. A mistake.

Crunch. His eyes widened in shock, his face frozen mid-expression.

He did not die instantly. Groaning, he stretched out his arms toward her, blood and brain matter seeping over his small, black eyes. From childhood to old age, he had spent his entire life searching, only to finally have what he sought right before him—yet he died in utter misery.

Was it blood and brain matter, or had those been tears?

God had given him everything but the one thing he truly desired.

“The Holy See caught fire?”

Leon, who had been standing still, finally spoke. He released her and stepped outside. Even from a distance, the once-pristine white Holy See could be seen billowing black smoke high into the sky.

Leon stared at the burning top floor for a long time before slowly lowering his gaze. His expression was unreadable, his emotions carefully concealed beneath dark, cold eyes.

“Most of the holy knights grew up regarding him as their father. Spreading word of this would be suicide.”

It was a warning to stay silent.

“But…”

“The body has already burned.”

Leon stated quietly, with the certainty of someone who had not even seen it. Before Veronica could question how he knew, a soldier approached them. Leon took something from him and ran a hand through his disheveled hair.

“Stay inside the barracks. I don’t have time for a leisurely conversation right now.”

It seemed he had been about to head to the fortress walls. Realizing this, Veronica snapped to her senses and hurriedly spoke up.

“You’re going into battle, aren’t you? Take me with you. You’re short on manpower.”

“Veronica.”

“I’m not going to push myself to my limits like before. I really won’t. I’ll be mindful of the situation today.”

“……”

“Please, let me do something.”

If she did nothing, she felt like she would go mad. The agitation and anxiety that had been building since the square reached their peak when she saw blood. No matter what the pope had intended, she had still killed a revered saint. The brutal sight of blood bursting had burned itself into her mind, refusing to fade.

Leon silently watched her trembling breath. Meanwhile, the continuous boom of cannons only made her heart race faster.

“Once you go up, you won’t be able to come down until nightfall. There will be, at most, an hour or two of rest.”

“That’s fine.”

At her firm response, Leon ran a sharp hand over his face. Under his heavy-lidded gaze, he finally let out a weary sigh.

“I’ll send a squire to guide you. Take the section he leads you to. Stay away from the center. That’s the most I can allow.”

His chiseled jawline looked sharper than she remembered. Only now did she realize he had lost some weight. There was no time for further conversation. This was a battlefield.

“Please… don’t push yourself too hard.”

Just before turning away, Leon spoke those words.

Another thunderous explosion shattered the air.

 

***

 

“This way.”

The squire, who appeared to be in his mid-teens, led her to the western end of the fortress wall.

“There are fewer of them here compared to other areas, but we still need assistance.”

As she ascended via the pulley system, the young knight explained with a pale face. The creaking platform felt unbearably slow. The sensation of the ground growing distant was dizzying. It had felt surreal from the beginning, but now more than ever.

Veronica gripped her sword tightly several times. Otherwise, she feared she might drop Hennessis from the sweat pooling in her palms.

Finally, with a heavy thud, the pulley system stopped, and she stepped onto the fortress wall, where an expansive view unfolded before her. The brilliant blue sky stretched endlessly, while thick plumes of smoke rose beneath it from the explosions. Veronica froze at the sight of the countless red dots emerging through the gray smoke. The number of enemies converging toward the center was staggering.

As fear took hold, Veronica realized one thing—Kart would not withstand this attack.

This was different from the previous assaults. The first had been to find her. The second, carried out with their eyes shut. But this time—

“They’re here to kill everyone,” she muttered under her breath.

The nightmare from Bayern, which she thought she had forgotten, flashed through her mind.

A burning city. Black smoke. Crimson letters scrawled on the church walls.

 

Deus dereliquit hominem. (God has abandoned humanity.)

 

Looking back, it had been a prophecy.

Run. I have to run. Every muscle, every nerve, even the fine hairs on her body screamed at her to flee.

She had believed she had grown accustomed to the Bahamut. But because she could sense their presence more clearly than anyone else, the reality struck her even harder. The approaching enemy carried pure, unfiltered malice. The Bahamut intended to tear Kart apart.

A wave of nausea surged within her.

“You don’t look well. Are you alright?”

Turning to the side, she saw young knights gripping their swords, looking at her with concern. Most of them appeared to be in their late teens, some even younger. When she spotted one particularly small boy bravely wielding a blade half his size, Veronica gritted her teeth.

Get a grip. This is what you insisted on doing.

She nodded, indicating she was fine, then drew her sword, awaiting the climbing Bahamut. Thump, thump, thump— A massive hand emerged over the wall. She tightened her grip.

Why now, of all times, did she remember the day she first learned to wield a sword from him?

 

***

 

The shift change occurred only when the night sky was speckled with stars. The hands climbing over the walls and the glowing red eyes on the horizon showed no signs of stopping. By the time she descended via the pulley system again, her fingers trembled from gripping the sword too tightly, and her entire body ached.

Naturally, amidst the chaos, there was no way to find Leon. Forcing herself to eat, Veronica shoved food into her mouth and wrapped herself in a blanket, taking a brief two-hour rest outdoors.

During that time, she overheard news of the citizen evacuation. The southern gate had been opened, and people were flooding into the wilderness. Watching a young knight excitedly spreading the news with outstretched arms, Veronica felt a wave of relief. At least, it wasn’t all for nothing.

To aid the evacuation, the fortress was firing its cannons more frequently. They were making as much noise as possible to prevent the Bahamut from turning toward the south. Even in the east and the temporarily barricaded north, efforts were being made to distract the creatures.

The pope’s death had not yet been disclosed. Considering Philip’s previous efforts to conceal the imperial incident, there was a high chance no one would know until Kart fell. The death of a renowned figure would only demoralize the people. Perhaps, with both the pope and emperor gone, the escape had become easier.

Even so—

Veronica hugged her knees, pressing her face against them.

A shiver ran through her. Her entire body felt drenched in blood.

She had committed too many sins. She had no idea how to cleanse herself of this guilt. How could she ever—

“But hey, did you see those ones earlier? They collapsed on their own before we even struck them.”

It was then that a hushed conversation among the soldiers reached her ears.

“Oh, that? Yeah, I saw it too. Isn’t it because one of the connected Bahamut was killed? I heard that when the original dies, all of its offspring perish at once.”

“Oh, I nearly died back there. But seeing that bastard, which had been so full of life, suddenly topple over—it really got me thinking. Maybe there really is a ‘First Bahamut.’ If we take that one down, maybe it all ends.”

Veronica opened her eyes.

She recalled Leon, pouring alcohol over a swarm of ants in the snowfield.

 

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