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Even as he held me suspended, Igoronak continued his tirade of curses, dripping with resentment.

“But what is this pitiful sight!?”
“You should shine more brilliantly!”
“I can’t believe you’re the one I should possess!”
“A Saintess who descends to the filthy, tainted earth like this—”
“Disgusting! An eyesore! Unbearable to behold!”

“…Don’t you dare impose your ridiculous ideals on me!” I spat, my small spark of anger flaring into a roaring blaze, fueling my resolve as I glared at Igoronak, who seemed lost in his self-indulgent rapture.

Driven by this fierce anger, I lashed out at him.

“Victor turned to forbidden research because of his inferiority complex. It was the wrong choice, but at least he was driven by the honest desire to better himself and earn respect. But you? All you ever think about is yourself, without considering the needs or desires of anyone around you! You’re a spoiled child throwing a tantrum! No matter how much talent or power you have, it’s worthless without self-control. Someone as selfish and oblivious as you have no right to claim to love anyone. Of course, you were rejected—anyone would run from someone as pathetic as you! So let me say it again: you’re nothing but a small, narrow-minded, miserable loser!”

“Silence, silence, silence!”

Igoronak’s twisted face contorted further in rage as he howled, his grip on my neck tightening with furious intensity.

“…Ka…hah…”

The air tasted of rusted iron, likely my own blood or perhaps the blood of Cestlavie spattered over me. The crushing pressure dulled my senses, my breath slipping away, and yet, even as death crept closer, I held fast to my anger and conviction, staring Igoronak down with unwavering eyes.

“Even if I die… I refuse… to lose to someone like you!”

I could never allow myself to submit to someone who would wield such power solely for his own desires, disregarding the suffering of others.

Because to yield now would be to deny everything about the current me —Syltianna— who has overcome the shame of being called the Ragweed Princess, worked hard to cultivate the abilities and appearance that might even rival my mother, Clara the Shrine Maiden Princess, and lived with restraint and patience, mindful never to become conceited or lose sight of my initial self-discipline.

Moreover, I had to honor those who stayed here by my side despite the danger —Eren, Luke, Lieselotte, Viola. And most of all, to repay Cestlavie, who protected me selflessly, I could not lose to someone so selfish and devoid of any sense of responsibility to match his power. I felt this deep within my heart.

“—someone so selfish… who can’t even understand… compassion for others…!”

Clenching my teeth as hard as I could, swallowing the blood pooling in my mouth, I forced out these words with my last breath, and as I did, my consciousness finally faded, sinking deeper… and deeper… into darkness…

—Thump!

Suddenly, my heart pulsed fiercely, as if a switch within me—no, more like a path to some unknown place—had been unlocked. A wave of heat surged through my entire body, and I heard a strong, yet gentle voice resonate within me, wrapping around my consciousness.

—Well said! Yes, that’s exactly right.

At that moment, I felt as if someone were softly patting my head, with a warmth reminiscent of a mother’s touch…

“Hm? What is this flow of magic? Where is it coming from—?”

Igoronak seemed to notice the change as well and loosened his grip just slightly—in that instant,

“「Earth Javelin」!”

A barrage of stone spears shot up from Cestlavie’s talismans, which had scattered on the ground, forming a conical assault that struck Igoronak’s arm, forcing him to release me.

“What…?!”

For a moment, Igoronak stood in stunned silence, unable to comprehend the situation. Arrogant individuals rarely have the flexibility to improvise in the face of unexpected disruptions, I thought briefly.

“「O mighty celestial dragon who gathers lightning, in the name of the great Thunder Emperor, smite the foe before me!!」”

Before I could fully process the chanting voice from below, it was already too late.

“Don’t you put your filthy foot on me! —「LIGHTNING!!!」”

Cestlavie, having regained consciousness, unleashed a fierce upward bolt of lightning from a bundle of talismans he clenched in his hand. It surged into Igoronak, who was thrown into the air, a violent explosion following in its wake. The initial strike seemed to draw more lightning from the surroundings, and a barrage of thunderbolts descended upon Igoronak, suspending him helplessly in midair as he was relentlessly bombarded.

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”

A soul-rending scream erupted from Igoronak’s entire body.

“—Hah. Serves you right…”

Still lying on his back, Cestlavie flashed a triumphant grin, raising his middle finger toward the airborne Igoronak. Just moments ago, he’d been at death’s door, but somehow, he was now full of energy. How could this be?

Then, he looked my way, licking my blood that had streamed down his face, and gave me a thumbs-up.

“Now’s your chance, Jill! Finish him off!”

“Y-yes…” I was still dazed, barely freed from suffocation. Before I could process the situation, I simply did as I was told, pointing my staff at Igoronak and attempting to gather my magic… only to realize I was completely drained. Just as I began to panic—

—I’ll help you a little. With my blood within you now active, you should be able to cast one last purification spell.

Once again, as if guided by the voice that resonated out of nowhere, I frantically refined my magical power… No, I gave direction to the magical power that was welling up in line with the blood flow throughout my body, and transformed it into the Purification spell.

“「O celestial bell, send these impure souls back to the underworld with thine eternal melody」”

Even in his weakened state, Igoronak immediately grasped the danger of being hit by purification magic in his condition.

“Stop—stop it!”

His terrified eyes gleamed with a raspy plea.

“Stop! If you waste it on me, you’ll lose your chance to escape this barrier as well!”

He’s probably right. Coppelia, who’d been counting down, was now charred black, babbling in a broken singsong, “cinder— cinder— cinderella—” How much time remained, I couldn’t say. It was likely we had none left to flee.

Then all I could do was finish what I started!

“Please, don’t do this—!”
“This is truly the end for you—「Purification!」”
“GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!”

Flames of crimson and gold—an unusual hue, unlike the usual golden light—burst forth, engulfing Igoronak entirely. The fiery purification consumed him, and his body crumbled away in a final, agonizing scream.

—To be honest, I always thought his talent was something precious.

As I watched Igoronak’s form dissolve, the voice within me whispered wistfully.

—But despite wielding such power, he had no intention of accepting the responsibility that came with it. I sealed him away, hoping he’d come to realize his mistake, but instead, he only grew more twisted. That’s my burden to bear.

A sense of remorse came through, along with an understanding of the nature of the seal that had bound Igoronak.

It wasn’t a seal meant to destroy him. Rather, it was designed to gradually purify his obsession and negative hatred, returning him to a decent human being over time. But in the end, that goal was never achieved; it only served to amplify his resentment and madness…

Echoing the voice within me, I offered my final farewell to Igoronak.

“Goodbye, Igor… no, Albert of the town of Tegra.”

“…Saintess…?” With a doubtful tone, Igoronak muttered, meeting my eyes. For an instant, his expression softened, as if he were a lost child finding his mother. Then, he faded away, dissolving like a black mist.

“…Phew…” I collapsed on the spot, utterly spent. Even the familiar weight of my staff felt too heavy to lift in my weakened state.

“You did it, Jill. —I mean, we’re both in pretty rough shape here,” Cestlavie chuckled, still lying on the ground as he gingerly touched his chest, which should have been gaping open. “Ouch… But the wound’s closed, somehow. What’s going on?”

I, unable to move even a step, preemptively added a “—This is only a guess,” before offering my theory.

“It seems that drinking my blood temporarily boosted your self-healing ability.”
“What kind of nonsense is that? I’ve heard some old folktale about eating a monk’s liver to live a hundred years, but I never thought there’d be any truth to it.”
“I used to think stories like that were just jokes too… Um, Cestlavie, are you familiar with a treatment called ‘blood transfusion’?”
“No… never heard of it.”
“That’s understandable. I didn’t think it existed in this world either, but it seems that Saintess Snow knew of it. When she revived me, she shared some of her blood with me.”

However, it seems the Saintess’ blood carries extremely high spiritual power, making it quite challenging to handle. The odds of a successful revival weren’t even fifty-fifty; they were closer to one in a thousand. —“Honestly, I didn’t think you could come back from that state,” she laughed in my mind. And in that moment, I couldn’t help but feel a mild, irrational surge of murderous intent.

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