’What is this woman trying to say?’
The words she was uttering as ‘me’ in that situation were strangely unsettling.
What did she say again?
Oh, right…
“Divine power can be a curse or a weapon?”
At that moment, I mindlessly repeated the words.
Thunk.
The woman closed the book she was reading.
I stared at her, dumbfounded.
And then…….
[Remember].
“…….”
[A fake can never become real.]
“……?”
As my old me muttered incomprehensible sounds, my surroundings were enveloped in a silver light.
And when everything was completely bathed in this light…
“Gasp!”
I gasped, opening my eyes wide.
“…Where am I?”
As soon as I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was a ceiling that looked like it was made of mud.
Slowly turning my head, I realized that I was trapped in a narrow space.
“Where in the world…”
Muttering absentmindedly, I tried to sit up.
Clang!
Instead of moving, my body made a sound as if chains were clashing against each other.
I turned my head with a puzzled expression.
Thick iron chains were bound around my arms and legs.
‘I-I, what is this!’
I found myself chained to some stone altar.
It was then that I remembered fainting due to Jeffrey’s poison.
“What the hell…”
As I muttered softly, footsteps accompanied by a familiar voice echoed.
“Oh, you’re awake, Livia.”
“What in the world are you doing?”
Unable to rise due to being bound, I tilted my head back slightly, making Jeffrey’s approaching figure appear upside down.
With a pained expression, he spoke.
“I’m sorry. But I had to bind you; otherwise, I couldn’t convert you.”
“This…!”
This madman!
I bit down on my lower lip to suppress the curses that were about to burst out.
Instead, I mimicked calmness and slowly replied, “Convert… you say?”
“Oh, yes. That’s right.”
In his hand, which had now approached my side, was an unidentified stone. What was peculiar was that inside the stone, there was a mysterious golden light swirling.
“There’s no need to worry. It’ll be good for you.”
A chilling madness gleamed in his eyes as he spoke.
“I don’t understand when you put it like that, Professor. Is this related to the research you mentioned?”
Although I wanted to scream and thrash wildly, I resisted, feeling a strong intuition that it was not the right course of action.
Seeing that Jeffrey hadn’t silenced me or initiated whatever conversion he mentioned, I continued the conversation.
Jeffrey looked down at me silently after my question, then spoke.
“Since your days at the academy, you always could calmly and rationally assess your surroundings. You don’t easily lose your composure. I’ve always admired that about you.”
“Thank you for the compliment…”
“Through Anna Lever, I heard about the downfall of your family, the death of your father, and how you became a tutor. I can’t imagine how much that must have pained you. You were never meant to just be a tutor.”
“…….”
“Livia, you’ve always been like that. You have abundant talent and abilities, but those around you never let you be. Jealousy and slander prevailed, and even your environment didn’t support you. You truly are… a born talent.”
He looked down at me with a truly pitiful expression.
I bit my lip firmly.
I feared I might empathize with his words.
I might pity myself.
“So, I’ve decided to rescue you. To take you to a place where your true worth can be recognized, not just as a mere private tutor.”
“… Where is that?”
At that moment, Jeffrey spread his arms wide and exclaimed.
“In the arms of God!”
“God? You mean the goddess Thelia?”
Thelia was the goddess currently worshiped in the temples.
There were no other gods in Lagranacia.
But…….
“No! She can’t be our god!”
Jeffrey shouted, denying it vehemently.
I looked at him like he was insane.
In this empire, Thelia was the only goddess, so if Thelia couldn’t be a god, then who…
’Wait a minute…’
Could it be…
I hesitated, then cautiously ventured.
“An ancient god?”
“……!!”
At that moment, Jeffrey’s eyes sparked.
He rushed toward me, his face close to mine.
In his close proximity, his face was filled with astonishment, elation, and joy.
“Yes, Livia! Oh, my goodness… Indeed, Livia, you’re special. You recognized our god, Egrid.”
“Egrid?
Though it was a name I had never heard before, I realized that it referred to an “ancient deity.”
Jeffrey seemed overjoyed that I knew of this presence, as he settled in place and began to pray fervently.
He appeared as a fervent fanatic in that moment.
After finishing his prayer, he turned to me and spoke.
“Indeed, you are fully deserving of witnessing miracles.”
“…….”
“But you are not ready as you are now. You are tainted by Thelia’s impurities. Therefore, we must cleanse you with this sacred stone infused with the power of our mother. Then, you can become a true child of our mother.”
Again, he approached me with the glowing stone, muttering to himself as he held it over me.
“Even if you may lose your memories, you will be saved spiritually…”
What madness! He’s just driving me insane!
“What…! Stop it!”
Clang! Clang!
I screamed and struggled, but Jeffrey paid no heed.
He lifted the stone above me and began chanting in a low voice.
“Rom abda, rom abda, our god Egrid, accept this poor child!”
As he chanted, the light emanating from the stone intensified, swirling around it.
“Livia, I am so glad you are here.”
As he spoke, he started pushing the stone emitting light towards me.
Feeling the pressure on my body, I tightly shut my eyes. But at that moment…
Crackle…
Suddenly, the stone wrapped in light began to crack.
“What, what is this?”
In a moment of shock, as Jeffrey leaned in to inspect the stone…
Crackle. Crack!
The stone exploded, scattering in all directions.
“Aaargh!”
Jeffrey, who had leaned in to inspect the stone, screamed in pain, covering his eyes and staggering backward.
Blood trickled through his closed fingers.
It seemed like the stone had exploded, and the fragments had struck his eyes.
“Aaargh!!”
Jeffrey screamed and thrashed wildly.
Crackle…
Watching Jeffrey in a daze, I suddenly felt the iron chains that had bound my arms loosen.
’They must have been broken in the explosion.’
With one arm free, I immediately slipped my hand inside my top.
Soon, a cross pendant came into my hand.
The pendant emitted a light I’d never seen before.
’This must have caused the explosion.’
If Jeffrey was right that the light in the stone was divine power, then the moment it came into contact with the pendant, a magical tool, the forces would clash and cause an explosion.
Despite the considerable explosion, I wasn’t injured…..
’It’s because of this pendant.’
I realized intuitively. The magic of the pendant protected me.
“Phew…”
I immediately infused the pendant with mana. Although I was worried about my magical depletion due to my illness, fortunately, the pendant elongated and transformed into the shape of a dagger.
I swiftly used the dagger to strike at the iron chains.
While ordinary daggers might have struggled to cut through, as soon as the blade touched the chains, they froze and shattered with a sharp sound.
’What is this woman trying to say?’
The words she was uttering as ‘me’ in that situation were strangely unsettling.
What did she say again?
Oh, right…
“Divine power can be a curse or a weapon?”
At that moment, I mindlessly repeated the words.
Thunk.
The woman closed the book she was reading.
I stared at her, dumbfounded.
And then…….
[Remember].
“…….”
[A fake can never become real.]
“……?”
As my old me muttered incomprehensible sounds, my surroundings were enveloped in a silver light.
And when everything was completely bathed in this light…
“Gasp!”
I gasped, opening my eyes wide.
“…Where am I?”
As soon as I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was a ceiling that looked like it was made of mud.
Slowly turning my head, I realized that I was trapped in a narrow space.
“Where in the world…”
Muttering absentmindedly, I tried to sit up.
Clang!
Instead of moving, my body made a sound as if chains were clashing against each other.
I turned my head with a puzzled expression.
Thick iron chains were bound around my arms and legs.
‘I-I, what is this!’
I found myself chained to some stone altar.
It was then that I remembered fainting due to Jeffrey’s poison.
“What the hell…”
As I muttered softly, footsteps accompanied by a familiar voice echoed.
“Oh, you’re awake, Livia.”
“What in the world are you doing?”
Unable to rise due to being bound, I tilted my head back slightly, making Jeffrey’s approaching figure appear upside down.
With a pained expression, he spoke.
“I’m sorry. But I had to bind you; otherwise, I couldn’t convert you.”
“This…!”
This madman!
I bit down on my lower lip to suppress the curses that were about to burst out.
Instead, I mimicked calmness and slowly replied, “Convert… you say?”
“Oh, yes. That’s right.”
In his hand, which had now approached my side, was an unidentified stone. What was peculiar was that inside the stone, there was a mysterious golden light swirling.
“There’s no need to worry. It’ll be good for you.”
A chilling madness gleamed in his eyes as he spoke.
“I don’t understand when you put it like that, Professor. Is this related to the research you mentioned?”
Although I wanted to scream and thrash wildly, I resisted, feeling a strong intuition that it was not the right course of action.
Seeing that Jeffrey hadn’t silenced me or initiated whatever conversion he mentioned, I continued the conversation.
Jeffrey looked down at me silently after my question, then spoke.
“Since your days at the academy, you always could calmly and rationally assess your surroundings. You don’t easily lose your composure. I’ve always admired that about you.”
“Thank you for the compliment…”
“Through Anna Lever, I heard about the downfall of your family, the death of your father, and how you became a tutor. I can’t imagine how much that must have pained you. You were never meant to just be a tutor.”
“…….”
“Livia, you’ve always been like that. You have abundant talent and abilities, but those around you never let you be. Jealousy and slander prevailed, and even your environment didn’t support you. You truly are… a born talent.”
He looked down at me with a truly pitiful expression.
I bit my lip firmly.
I feared I might empathize with his words.
I might pity myself.
“So, I’ve decided to rescue you. To take you to a place where your true worth can be recognized, not just as a mere private tutor.”
“… Where is that?”
At that moment, Jeffrey spread his arms wide and exclaimed.
“In the arms of God!”
“God? You mean the goddess Thelia?”
Thelia was the goddess currently worshiped in the temples.
There were no other gods in Lagranacia.
But…….
“No! She can’t be our god!”
Jeffrey shouted, denying it vehemently.
I looked at him like he was insane.
In this empire, Thelia was the only goddess, so if Thelia couldn’t be a god, then who…
’Wait a minute…’
Could it be…
I hesitated, then cautiously ventured.
“An ancient god?”
“……!!”
At that moment, Jeffrey’s eyes sparked.
He rushed toward me, his face close to mine.
In his close proximity, his face was filled with astonishment, elation, and joy.
“Yes, Livia! Oh, my goodness… Indeed, Livia, you’re special. You recognized our god, Egrid.”
“Egrid?
Though it was a name I had never heard before, I realized that it referred to an “ancient deity.”
Jeffrey seemed overjoyed that I knew of this presence, as he settled in place and began to pray fervently.
He appeared as a fervent fanatic in that moment.
After finishing his prayer, he turned to me and spoke.
“Indeed, you are fully deserving of witnessing miracles.”
“…….”
“But you are not ready as you are now. You are tainted by Thelia’s impurities. Therefore, we must cleanse you with this sacred stone infused with the power of our mother. Then, you can become a true child of our mother.”
Again, he approached me with the glowing stone, muttering to himself as he held it over me.
“Even if you may lose your memories, you will be saved spiritually…”
What madness! He’s just driving me insane!
“What…! Stop it!”
Clang! Clang!
I screamed and struggled, but Jeffrey paid no heed.
He lifted the stone above me and began chanting in a low voice.
“Rom abda, rom abda, our god Egrid, accept this poor child!”
As he chanted, the light emanating from the stone intensified, swirling around it.
“Livia, I am so glad you are here.”
As he spoke, he started pushing the stone emitting light towards me.
Feeling the pressure on my body, I tightly shut my eyes. But at that moment…
Crackle…
Suddenly, the stone wrapped in light began to crack.
“What, what is this?”
In a moment of shock, as Jeffrey leaned in to inspect the stone…
Crackle. Crack!
The stone exploded, scattering in all directions.
“Aaargh!”
Jeffrey, who had leaned in to inspect the stone, screamed in pain, covering his eyes and staggering backward.
Blood trickled through his closed fingers.
It seemed like the stone had exploded, and the fragments had struck his eyes.
“Aaargh!!”
Jeffrey screamed and thrashed wildly.
Crackle…
Watching Jeffrey in a daze, I suddenly felt the iron chains that had bound my arms loosen.
’They must have been broken in the explosion.’
With one arm free, I immediately slipped my hand inside my top.
Soon, a cross pendant came into my hand.
The pendant emitted a light I’d never seen before.
’This must have caused the explosion.’
If Jeffrey was right that the light in the stone was divine power, then the moment it came into contact with the pendant, a magical tool, the forces would clash and cause an explosion.
Despite the considerable explosion, I wasn’t injured…..
’It’s because of this pendant.’
I realized intuitively. The magic of the pendant protected me.
“Phew…”
I immediately infused the pendant with mana. Although I was worried about my magical depletion due to my illness, fortunately, the pendant elongated and transformed into the shape of a dagger.
I swiftly used the dagger to strike at the iron chains.
While ordinary daggers might have struggled to cut through, as soon as the blade touched the chains, they froze and shattered with a sharp sound.
