Chapter 33

Late at night.

I rode in a carriage that the emperor had sent for me secretly and headed to the palace.

At an hour when everyone should have been asleep, the emperor and empress surprisingly came out to greet me personally as I stepped out of the carriage.

“Thank you for responding at such a late hour, Saint.”

“It is only natural at your majesty’s call. What is the matter?”

“Though I am ashamed to admit it, even after hearing that you have treated countless beggars and nobles, I still couldn’t fully trust you. It was only after meeting you personally at the banquet that I became convinced. Please forgive my disbelief.”

After saying this, the emperor maintained a long silence before finally speaking with difficulty.

“Have you heard about my daughter?”

Princess Almenes.

I’ve heard her name, but I know nothing else about her.

Of course, she’s a mysterious princess who has never appeared in public or in any newspaper.

“Is Her Highness the Princess unwell?”

“……Please come in first.”

I was guided deep into the palace by the royal couple.

The princess—someone I had never seen before—why was I being brought to her?

While I was pondering this, the moment I entered a certain room, I froze, as though struck by lightning.

The woman lying quietly in a corner of the room—wasn’t she the one I had seen in my dream, lying there bleeding?

I didn’t expect to obtain a clue so quickly after Erpa!

The cheat key!

The hell-skip cheat key is calling me!

“This is my daughter. Almenes. Would you first take a look at her, please?”

“Can you heal her?”

In response to the earnest voices of the royal couple, I nodded.

“I’ll try.”

I carefully approached the princess and placed my hand on her forehead.

She had a peculiar face—there was a magic circle-like mark on her left eye, and because of it, she seemed unable to open her left eye. Moreover, she looked alarmingly emaciated, as if suffering from severe influenza.

After observing her face for a moment, I activated my skill.

[The body is healthy with no abnormalities!]

[Immediate body modification is possible!]

[Baby size, slightly small size, standard size, or extra large size? Which modification do you prefer?]

Ah! What is this ridiculous explanation? Get lost!

Still, what was this about no abnormalities in her body?

Physically, she was perfectly normal.

I double-checked several times, thinking I might have missed something, but there was no change.

Strange.

She wasn’t physically sick, so…

Why did she look so frail and gaunt?

“The princess has no ailment. Since there is no sickness, I am unable to treat her.”

I said this honestly.

Really.

If there were any abnormalities or symptoms, they would be clearly marked by my skill.

But she had absolutely none.

Since she wasn’t sick, healing was impossible.

This was the first case of its kind I’d encountered.

Was it a psychological issue?

“Thus… it means that treatment is impossible.”

The emperor bowed his head with a sorrowful expression.

The empress also looked utterly desperate.

The princess smiled gently at this.

“It’s okay, Father. I can endure.”

However, the smiles the princess tried to force remained unnoticed by the royal couple.

Their faces instead looked even more heartbroken and anguished.

“Rest, Almenes.”

After saying this, the emperor briefly gestured for me to follow him.

I obediently stepped out of the room.

As soon as the door closed, the empress could no longer hold back and began to sob.

“Your Majesty…”

“Almenes is dying! If even the saint can’t heal her, what can we do…?”

It was a heartbreaking wail.

The emperor had nothing to say in return, only tightly embracing his wife.

I silently observed the entire scene from behind.

Finally, after the empress calmed down, the emperor turned to me.

“I suppose I should explain the situation. It will take some time. Will you listen?”

“I will listen. No matter how long it takes.”

I must understand the exact circumstances, even if it means cursing myself to death.

The emperor and empress relocated with me.

Inside the expansive reception hall, the couple seemed to take a moment to compose themselves.

And after a long pause,

“19 years ago. Our couple bore twin daughters.”

The emperor began speaking in a sorrowful tone.

***

Let me explain the concept of “twin-souls.”

This refers to twins who are born with their souls connected.

The emperor’s twin daughters — Almenes and Iomenes — were twin-souls.

Sharing all senses, thoughts, memories, and even emotions, such twin-souls were considered, in the empire, as two bodies sharing a single personality.

The birth of twin-souls was rare and considered a great blessing, so the palace threw an enormous celebratory feast at the time of their birth.

However, before the celebration could even properly begin…

“Feathers… feathers grew out of Iomenes’ back!”

A pitch-black wing, as if carved from the darkest night, started growing from her back.

The startled royal couple immediately summoned clerics and wizards to identify the nature of the wing growing from Iomenes’ back, and they delivered a shocking answer.

“She has been born with a Piece of the Evil God.”

“A Piece of the Evil God?! How could this happen!”

“It seems someone has cursed Empress for a long period.”

Chaos ensued.

The birth of the twin-princesses was quietly buried.

Instead, relentless searches and interrogations swept through the palace.

Who?

Who could have cursed the empress?

The maids and butlers who served the empress, her relatives, anyone who had even met her—all were thoroughly investigated, but neither the clerics, wizards, nor the intelligence bureau could identify the culprit.

Time silently flowed on, and three years after the birth of the twin princesses,

An intense curse began emanating from the wings on Iomenes’ back.

It all started when a maid taking care of Iomenes collapsed from the curse.

Though her soul’s curses were successfully removed through various divine magics and miracles, she eventually died from lingering aftereffects.

“This is no ordinary curse. It destroys the soul and then replaces the void with the curse. Once this happens, the person can neither live nor die but will wander endlessly.”

“It doesn’t end there. This curse can spread to others nearby in an instant.”

“A horde of undead could even appear in the heart of the capital, Your Majesty!”

“Her Highness Princess Iomenes must… be dealt with.”

“Dealt with.”

Unexplained, but the emperor understood immediately what that meant—Killing Iomenes.

To prevent the creation of an undead army in the capital.

But…

“If one of the twin-souls dies, what happens to the other?”

No one answered that question.

Two bodies.

Yet, one soul.

If one dies, the other would follow.

To kill Iomenes would be the same as killing the perfectly healthy Almenes.

The emperor pondered.

He thought and thought.

And in the end, he decided not to kill his daughter.

“Tell me how to eliminate the Piece of the Evil God.”

No one could answer, except one—the White Church, which had vast experience battling countless monsters and dark creatures.

“Long ago, a hero chosen by Dulaneir was recorded to have eliminated a Piece of the Evil God.”

“Speak. How does one eliminate it?”

“Seclude the child with the Piece of the Evil God in a solitary room, thoroughly isolating her from everyone. Regularly bombard her body with powerful divine magic to weaken the connection between the soul and the Piece of the Evil God. Once fully separated, extract and remove the Piece.”

“How long will it take?”

“It will probably take over 10 years of work. If you endure this process, there is a high chance of recovery. However, each time divine magic is cast onto the body, the Piece of the Evil God will resist and cause immense physical pain.”

The emperor’s face distorted.

“So, every time divine magic is cast, Iomenes will suffer excruciating pain?”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t that akin to torture?”

The High Priest lowered his head.

“We will take all possible measures to minimize the pain, but… there is no way to completely eliminate it, Your Majesty.”

The emperor’s hand trembled.

“Is there any other way?”

“If a saint appears with a miracle, it is possible. However, no saint has blessed this empire for 300 years. The method I mentioned is the only one available, Your Majesty.”

“Gods of the Temple of the Divine, why…”

The emperor informed the empress of this fact.

“There is nothing we can do! It’s practically torture!”

“…It is our only option.”

“Twin-souls share one soul. If Iomenes suffers, won’t Almenes suffer too?”

“Magic can sever the connection between the twin-souls.”

“No! No! They are my children, the ones I bore for 10 months in pain—they are my flesh and blood! How could I subject my child to…”

“If we do nothing, the entire empire might be destroyed by the curse emanating from the Piece of the Evil God. Moreover, if we let the Piece of the Evil God infesting Iomenes’ soul grow, could Almenes, who shares the same soul, remain unharmed?”

The empress began to weep uncontrollably.

“To inflict such abuse on a 3-year-old… how could we…”

The emperor tightly clenched his fists.

“It must be done… somehow.”

“You’re the worst father!!”

The empress, overcome by emotions, shouted, but the emperor, with a sorrowful gaze, replied,

“I chose my daughters over the empire. According to principles, I ought to have killed Iomenes. My lady, please refrain from speaking like that.”

The empress could find no words to respond.

The couple embraced each other and cried for a long time.

The thought of having to hurt their three-year-old child filled them with sorrow.

But to save both children, they had no other way.

On her third birthday.

The twin princess, with the wings sprouting from her back, underwent a powerful spell.

The surgery to sever the soul connection was conducted, separating the sisters Iomenes and Almenes.

Iomenes was left alone, locked away in a special annex filled with miracles and spells designed to prevent the curse from spreading, where she endured unspeakable agony every week, feeling as if her body was being torn apart.

Almenes, meanwhile, grew up in the light as the daughter of the emperor, proper and well-mannered.

And so.

For 16 years.

The sisters were separated.

***

The long story ended.

The empress was crying, and the emperor looked as if his soul was broken.

“Over 16 years, we tortured Iomenes ruthlessly. No terrible parent could have done what we did. We even forcibly prevented her from attempting suicide multiple times.”

“What happened to the Piece of the Evil God?”

“The connection between the Piece and Iomenes’ soul has weakened significantly. However, at the cost of this, her self and spirit have been irreparably damaged. Enough to influence Almenes despite the magic blocking the connection between their souls.”

That’s why Princess Almenes couldn’t be healed. She is suffering from a spiritual issue rather than a physical one, so it makes sense.

The emperor grasped my hand.

“Saint, as a father of my children—not the ruler of the empire—I beseech you. Save Iomenes with your miracle. The girl’s spirit is being destroyed before the Piece of the Evil God can be fully separated from her soul. I believe you could remove the Piece while healing her spirit. Please—I beg of you…”

The emperor shed tears.

I had heard stories of the emperor as a tyrannical and iron-fisted ruler, commanding supreme military power. Indeed, the emperor in the newspapers always appeared stoic and stern.

But the middle-aged man before me looked only deeply saddened and suffering.

There was no hint of authority.

In this situation,

I must admit, I was celebrating internally.

Curse!!

A curse so powerful it could destroy the world!

And here it’s being delivered directly to me!

If I extract the Piece of the Evil God from the princess and use it to destroy my own soul…

The princess will be saved, and I can return to Korea!

It’s a win-win!

“Leave it to me.”

Wait for me, curse!

I’m coming for you right now!

***