Chapter 34

There was one thing that needed to be clarified first.

My goal is to die alone after extracting the curse from the princess’s body, not to let her suffer abuse and perish with her.

To safely extract the fragment of the Evil God while protecting the princess, I obviously needed more detailed information about said fragment.

So, I went to the White Church.

“Saint! The disciple of Dulaneir meets the Saint of Healing.”

The priests bowed so deeply it was almost uncomfortable, but at the moment, I rather appreciated it.

“I wish to review information on the fragment of the Evil God.”

“The fragment of the Evil God, you say?”

“Bring me all the information you have. Do not hide anything from me.”

“Of course!”

Being a false saint may be deceitful, but the title of ‘saint’ certainly has its perks.

Even the highest-secret archives of the White Church, accessible only to the head priest, were open to me.

I began to thoroughly scan through every piece of information from faded parchment to neatly printed recent documents.

Information on the fragment of the Evil God.

A method to safely extract the source of the curse without further distressing the unstable host.

A way to contain its destructive power and apply it solely to me.

Is there nothing?

I sat on the floor, immobile, scrutinizing every document for more than half a day.

And finally, after frantically searching through all the information for about half a day, I found a way to protect the princess while safely extracting the root of the curse.

[When the connection to the host’s soul is loosened by endless divine magic, the fragment of the Evil God moves toward the nearest soul. If the host has someone they mentally rely on nearby, the fragment will prioritize them as a target and attempt to move to their soul.]

[Therefore, during the weakening of the connection between the soul and the fragment, no family, lover, child, or anyone else must be near the host. Otherwise, the fragment will move instantly, settling in the soul of a new host. While the previous host will be saved, weakening the connection with the new host will require another long and tedious process.]

In other words, since I am the person Princess Iomenes relies on, the fragment will leap toward me and burrow into my soul!

And let’s see…

Wasn’t this what I roughly read from that parchment?

Ah, here it is!

After the fragment moves from Princess Iomenes to me:

[If the health of the new host’s soul is irrelevant, at least three priests can simultaneously use the miracle of ‘Pamac’ to rid the soul of the fragment. The fragment will unleash an intense curse while being destroyed, ruining the host’s soul, but immediately afterwards, it will be eternally annihilated.]

I just need to ask the priests to use the miracle of ‘Pamac’ on me, sacrificing my soul to destroy the fragment of the Evil God!

They’ll have no choice but to comply since they’ll want to prevent the world’s destruction!

Soul obliterated!

Rebirth in Korea!

Perfect.

But the question is, how will I make the princess rely on me?

My first thought was: Why not just use Absolute Hypnosis to make her feel like “I can’t live without Lord Amael!”?

But then, could the mental state of someone who endured sixteen years of unimaginable, horrific abuse remain intact?

The princess reportedly attempted suicide numerous times, so there’s concern that using Absolute Hypnosis to meddle with her mind might shatter her mentality like a cookie before she even loves me.

Even if it were possible, if such an event were to happen, it could also kill Princess Almenes whose soul is connected to hers. And naturally, the emperor would not let me go unpunished.

If I were destroyed by the curse and my soul remained intact, leading to my execution and a trip to the afterlife, it would naturally result in…

A trip to hell.

Shit.

I am not willing to take that risk.

What can be done then?

I’ll have to meet Princess Iomenes, coax and comfort her so she grows reliant on me, allowing the fragment to come to me.

After that, I’ll endure the miracle of ‘Pamac’ and destroy the fragment with the curse erupting from it, obliterating my soul and sending me back to Korea.

The princess will be saved.

I stood up.

“I greatly appreciate your kindness.”

“Anytime! Please feel free to come back whenever you wish!”

“Thank you.”

I bowed my gratitude and left the White Church.

***

That evening.

The imperial palace.

I reached the secluded wing where Princess Iomenes was imprisoned.

Once beautiful, the wing now bore a sight so eerie it gave me the creeps.

Large magical sigils and artifacts lined the area around the wing, and talismans were abundantly plastered on the walls and doors.

This is suddenly transitioning from fantasy to occult, isn’t it?

“Saint. The curse is dangerous; you must wear this protective suit to enter.”

Outside the wing, one of the several wizards and priests waiting there handed me a thick protective suit.

It looked remarkably similar to a radiation protection suit.

Putting this on while entering would clearly give off an obvious vibe of ‘I mistrust you completely’!!

“I will not wear it.”

“Pardon me? Saint! This is a curse! A very pure, high-level curse directly inflicted by the fragment of the Evil God itself!!”

I felt absolutely no fear.

How could I be afraid when I’m actively trying to die from it?

If it hits me directly, that’s great; it would destroy my soul without the hassle of extracting the fragment.

Plus, I need to make Princess Iomenes trust me. How could she if I go in wearing this?

“Would that not hurt Princess Iomenes if I entered wearing such a thing?”

“…”

The wizard stared at me, impressed.

Impressed? I’m just struggling desperately to die from a curse to go back to Korea.

“It’s more important that she is safe than me getting injured.”

After saying that, I refused the protective suit and slowly, cautiously entered the secluded wing.

I opened the door of the wing, adorned with talismans and magical sigils, and as soon as I stepped inside, the first thing I felt was a chilling cold.

A place that seems to have never experienced any human warmth for ages.

Of course, the actual temperature of the wing was normal, but I still got that feeling.

Once the door closed behind me, I took a short deep breath.

Making the princess rely on me is key.

She’s endured sixteen years of abuse.

I must approach carefully.

No rushing, slowly building trust is crucial.

“Princess Iomenes?”

I wandered around the wing.

But there was no sight of Princess Iomenes anywhere.

Only the excessively clean and excessively empty scenery of the secluded wing greeted me.

It feels like something out of a creepy game.

-The secluded wing seems empty.

-Where could Princess Iomenes be?

-Ah!

The atmosphere suggests a jump-scare moment, doesn’t it?

…Damn, really there!

When I heard some movement and turned around in shock, there was a woman looking eerily similar to Princess Almenes I met not long ago, quietly staring at me.

The difference was, of course, the wings.

A pair of massive black wings, extending from her back, flapped widely, almost covering the entire corridor.

Princess Iomenes, unlike Princess Almenes, had her right eye closed.

Perhaps that is the magic preventing the soul connection, huh?

Tattered clothes.

A dead, vacant stare devoid of emotion.

A blank expression.

That completes the trio of eerie elements.

Princess Iomenes looked at me in silence, her gaze reflecting someone who had been utterly destroyed.

I silently swallowed my dry throat and gave her a gentle smile.

My smile seemed to surprise her.

She took a hesitant step back, and I spoke to her carefully.

“Hello. Your Highness. I am Jericho Amael. Nice to meet you.”

Princess Iomenes remained silent, replying to me with nothing.

Is she unable to speak?

That’s quite plausible.

“There’s no need to be wary. I’m not here to harm you.”

Not wearing the protective suit was definitely the right choice.

She looked at me with an unreadable expression, neither showing any hostility nor screaming.

That alone was reassuring.

“I’ve come to cure you…”

But the moment the word “cure” slipped out of my mouth:

Princess Iomenes transformed.

“AAAHHH!!!”

She screamed like a beast and went into a fit.

Her wildly flailing hands left a long gash on my forearm, a wound far too deep to be just a scratch, and naturally, it started bleeding.

Ah!

Damn, it hurts like hell!

Yet… it’s bearable.

An injury?

I have nothing to fear.

I have Body Modification.

[Use Body Modification on yourself!]

The torn skin healed, and the bleeding stopped.

I showed the princess this scene outright.

When the wound vanished in an instant, the princess stopped her screaming and stared at me.

Her eyes, for the first time, showed some semblance of emotion.

Surprise.

Or perhaps fascination.

“Surprising, isn’t it? Even though I don’t fully understand it, I have the ability to heal people.”

I said this cheerfully, but the princess didn’t reply.

It’s questionable whether she even understood what I said.

She simply stared at me blankly, appearing more akin to a wild animal than a human.

A sudden pang of pity for the young princess struck me.

She’s only 19, not long since her coming-of-age ceremony.

An age where she should be happily hanging out with friends, buying cosmetics, eating tteokbokki, but instead, she’s cloistered here in what looks like something out of an occult story, with a dark pair of wings on her back.

Worse, it seems like she no longer speaks.

It’s not strange.

A woman who has endured 16 years of torture can hardly be expected to remain normal.

If I were to make her trust me and her state resembles that of a wild animal, perhaps building trust in a way akin to handling a real wild animal would be better?

Alright, let’s do that.

I slowly approached the princess.

And cautiously,

Like extending my hand to a wary cat,

I rested my hand on her head.

She didn’t move.

She only continued to gaze blankly at me.

She silently allowed me to gently pat her head.

Taking the chance to pat her, I subtly used a skill to check her physical condition.

Sure enough, there were innumerable self-harm scars hidden under her tattered clothes.

Moreover, her body was emaciated to a point that made me question if she was truly 19 years old.

Horrific.

Could I not use my skill to extract and remove the fragment of the Evil God somehow?

[Target must be a living being for skill activation!]

Perhaps sensing my thoughts, the skill prompt showed up in front of my eyes.

Right, the fragment of the Evil God isn’t exactly alive.

This is irritating.

If only I could use a skill, this would be easy.

Unfortunately, there’s no way.

I first removed the numerous scars of self-harm from her body.

I even adjusted her skeletal and muscular system, changing her emaciated frame to match Princess Almenes, whom I had seen yesterday.

[Body Modification Unavailable!]

The only part I couldn’t modify was the wings. When I attempted to remove them, I felt resistance, as if someone outside was deliberately interfering—most likely the fragment of the Evil God interfering with its removal.

It’s to be expected.

The wings that grew due to the fragment must indeed be protected by the fragment.

This is as far as we’ll go for now.

Once the treatment ended, the princess, who seemed to itch from the sudden changes, stepped back and looked at her body.

Realizing her injuries had vanished and her emaciated frame was restored with healthy fat and muscle, the princess’s blank expression shattered into one of clear astonishment.

Seeing her fumble in disbelief at her newly improved body made me grin.

This looks good.

Unexpectedly, her reactions are rather adorable.

Let’s call it a day.

Pushing forward too much at once might startle her.

“Tomorrow, I’ll come again. Definitely see you again tomorrow. So please, don’t get hurt and wait for me.”

Despite my smiling assurance, Princess Iomenes could only freeze in place, unable to reply.

I left the secluded wing.

It seemed to have been a good first meeting, free of any significant trouble.