The Hero’s Party Members Treat Me Well for Some Reason

15 – BAD END: Saint (4)

That’s when it began.

My hellish days started.

King Balkan defeated the hero and cast him aside.

I momentarily looked at the cold corpse of the hero.

*

[Skill, ‘Noble Sacrifice’ has been activated!]

[Caution, the range of the skill is too extensive!]

[Calculations for adjusting cause and effect ratio will begin!]

[Percentage of causality being amended······ 0%]

*

A sense of fear overwhelmed me. I couldn’t believe this reality at all.

“It’s just the two of us left.”

At that moment, Balkan approached me. Then, his hand, wrapped in bandages, turned towards me.

The bandages were torn in various places, possibly due to the hero’s sword causing the wounds.

Thanks to that, I could see the faint breath hiding behind him.

Skin that felt as dry and withered as a dead tree. Blue veins that grotesquely protruded.

And even ants and scorpions crawling over them······.

How on earth could this happen··· His body was already far from life.

“Do you know what my dream is?”

After suppressing the urge to vomit for a moment, he opened his mouth.

“Let’s take a guess. I’m in a very good mood right now. So you never know. If you guess correctly, maybe I’ll show you some mercy···.”

I vigorously racked my brain. But perhaps due to the fear that solidified my mind, the answer that came out was only something like this.

“Um, blocking the hero···.”

“Wrong. Well, that’s also one of the dreams, but not the biggest one.”

He chuckled.

“My dream is to create isolation and despair. A terribly lonely isolation that can throw the world into chaos···.”

Isolation and despair.

Placing snakes, ants, scorpions, and so on, into a jar.

The venomous creatures trapped there fight and kill each other until only one remains.

I learned from the cathedral that the creature created by such isolation and despair possesses tremendous power.

Since the beginning of human history, three isolations and despairs have been created. These three isolations have been recorded as disasters in human history and were eventually sealed away and fell into ruin. To think that a single creature could throw tens of thousands into terror··· Isn’t it beautiful?”

He caressed my cheek.

Between the loosened bandages, I could see his pupils. His bloodshot eyes were flickering with madness.

“For a long time, I have been preparing the ingredients to create isolation and despair. And finally, today, all the ingredients have come together. What wickedness will emerge when the most sacred thing is ruined in the most dirty way possible··· How about it, aren’t you curious, saint?”

Then I realized.

The ‘ingredients’ he was talking about was me.

“Don’t worry. You will live for a very long time. I will make sure of it.”

Looking back, I should have bitten my tongue even then.

*

[Correction of causality ratio… 2.285714…%]

*

“Kyaaahhh!!!”

“Quiet down, so my children won’t be startled.”

“Kyahhh!!! Kyahh!! Kyaaahhh!!!”

On the first day since the hero’s death.

He was thrown into a pit full of all sorts of bugs.

Maggots, ants, earthworms, cockroaches, and dozens of other bugs crawled all over his body.

“Since it’s the first day, I suppose I need some time to get acquainted with my children. Don’t worry. I personally requested my children to treat you delicately. I won’t allow them to do anything cruel.”

He screamed.

He screamed.

He screamed······.

*

[Correction of causality ratio… 16.462812….%]

*

Because I was on the brink of going insane from the creepy sensation crawling all over my skin, I had to scream.

Although my throat was completely dry and no sound came out in the middle, I couldn’t stop my antics.

As maggots burrowed into my ears and flies entered my mouth, indescribable disgust surged up.

My neck that had been torn out was

“But in reality, I had the strongest desire to escape from here.

Once I made a plan, I immediately put it into action. I purified the remaining effects of the paralysis poison and burned the bugs that surrounded my body using divine power.

To avoid being noticed by Balkan, I also applied the hiding techniques I had learned from Adel.

Everything was going smoothly. Until halfway through.

“This damn woman.”

There was one aspect that I overlooked. That is, this fortress is no different from the eyes and ears of the king.

I tried to be careful, but I couldn’t completely deceive the king’s detection range.

And so, my escape plan ended so fruitlessly.

Now all that was left was another despair, intensified surveillance, and terrible punishment.

“You have disobeyed. I must give you the appropriate sanctions. You will never think of escaping again. Do not ask for any mercy from me in the future.”

“Just a moment! I made a mistake!! Just a moment…!!”

After that, the place I was trans

There were my party members.

No, to be precise, they were former party members.

Those people were no longer alive, you could say they had decomposed.

Just like how microorganisms would come and devour the flesh once a corpse is buried, my colleagues were going through the same process, courtesy of the insects.

“Ah…”

Camilla’s brave eyes were no more.

There were only empty sockets in their place.

Adele’s smooth ebony-like skin was no more.

There were only worm-infested holes scattered here and there.

Even Lily, who was so bright, no longer existed.

There was only one red-haired girl who had died with a pained face.

“Ahh…”

I couldn’t say anything.

I felt a suffocating sensation as if something was tightly lodged in my throat.

Tears started streaming from my eyes at some point.

Why?

Why did it turn out like this…?

I didn’t embark on this adventure to meet such a fate…

“Indeed, these representatives selected from the human race are quite remarkable. Their vitality is incredibly tough. They only died yesterday, barely losing their breath. I can’t believe they’re still alive even after being devoured by insects until their skin was stripped. hehehe… Thanks to them, I was able to gather a lot of resentment.”

“…”

The King looked at me and spoke.

“Don’t worry. You won’t end up like that. The first week was just a joke.”

Thud.

The hand that had been tightly bandaged reached my shoulder.

“The second week, we’ll inject the larvae directly into your body. Just like myself. We need to create a vessel, the minimum requirement for solitude. In the third week, you should give one of your arms or legs to my children. Since you’re a saint, one arm or leg should heal easily, right? And in the fourth week, to the large species…”

Word by word.

Every time the King spoke, chills ran down my spine.

He calmly explained the future that awaited me. It was terrifying and dreadful to the point where I couldn’t even bear to imagine it.

“And after that, you will serve as the mother body.”

“···Yes?”

But nothing scared him more than what he said next.

“Literal indeed. You will be the mother who gives birth to the people of my kingdom. Confined in the deepest depths of the underground, you will diligently lay eggs, constantly being violated by all sorts of large insects.”

“Ah, ah······.”

“Don’t worry. You are the most important resource of my castle. I will never let you die.”

“Ah, aah······.”

I sat in my place, crying uncontrollably.

My given fate was so miserable, so terrifying.

I couldn’t bear it without shedding tears.

Seeing me like that, King Chung spoke with ecstatic eyes.

“Ah··· yes. That’s the exact look! More! Show me more pain. Spew out resentment and hatred as you live a long, long life. Let your suppressed emotions remain inside you. And finally, finally······.”

“Ahahahahah·········.”

“Grant me metamorphosis.”

I cried for a long time.

Even when King Chung and the insects left and the corpses of my comrades were moved somewhere else, I sat on the floor and wept.

Only despair remained, swirling by my side.

The fourth day passed like that.

*

[Calculating causal relationship rate······ 75.915643….%]

*

Sixth day.

I adapted to everything.

I resigned to everything.

I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of the insects crawling on my body, the lingering pain of the poison I still felt, or the stifling emotions that occupied a corner of my heart.

Only one thought filled my mind.

“Do I have to live like this from now on?”

And how long is this “from now on”?

10 years? 20 years? Or will it continue for centuries?

Is it possible to die?

As the imagined years grew longer, my sense of despair deepened. Every time, tears would well up in my eyes.

The 6th night was filled only with such thoughts.

*

[Calculating causality rate… 95.999999….%]

*

After crying relentlessly, getting exhausted and sleeping, how many hours had passed since the cycle of crying repeated.

When I suddenly came to my senses, something was hanging on the vibrant wall.

I could tell what it was right away.

“······.”

It was the preserved body of a warrior.

With severed arms and legs, the body of a warrior whose skin had been embalmed.

It was displayed as it was, hung on a frame in the main chamber of the king’s palace.

Upon seeing it, the king uttered a satisfied remark.

“It’s a souvenir.”

“······.”

A souvenir.

That endlessly light expression was a phrase indicating the hero’s ultimate fate.

“It’s also proof that I caught the hero. In this way, I will also be recorded in the history books by future generations. hehehehe… I wonder what kind of words will be written, I’m already looking forward to it.”

With those words, he left the main chamber.

He didn’t say anything derogatory towards me, nor did he subject me to any additional torment.

However, I could only remain stuck there, in a daze, for a long time.

Before long, I saw the corpse of the warrior hanging on the wall.

“······.”

*

[The victim of the curse has died!]

[The curse of distortion will be lifted with the victim’s death.]

[The curse of the soul will be lifted with the victim’s death.]

[The curse of achievements will be lifted with the victim’s death.]

[With the victim’s death…]

.

.

.

*

His true identity still remains unknown.

I do not know why he carried so much guilt on his back.

I do not know why I felt such discomfort every time I looked at him, or why he continued to fight alongside the Demon Army despite being despised till the end.

However, one certain thing is that he was undoubtedly a hero. The fact that he fought fiercely with the Demon Army until the very end.

And we… We doubted him, even without any evidence, and accused him of being a spy.

Now that we have become mere chunks of meat, I wonder why we hated the hero so much.

This is the price of mistrust.

The party members are all dead, the hero has been made into a stuffed corpse, and I will remain here in agony for the rest of my life.

“I’m sorry…”

I muttered quietly as I apologized in front of the hero’s corpse.

The other party is already dead and the recipient of my apology has ceased to exist, but I couldn’t stop myself from doing it.

This feeble murmur turned into sobbing and flowed down to the ground.

“I’m sorry. I apologize…”

This is our ending.

No honor, no glory, only a conclusion filled with pain and misery.

Regret flooded in too late.

If… if I was given another chance, I wouldn’t have treated him so cruelly…

“I’m truly sorry…”

I sat there, motionless, for several hours.

… And then it happened.

*

[Revision of causality complete!]

[Activating skill!]

[Searching for save point!]

*

Suddenly, the world stopped.