Chapter 25: Blood and Prayers

The Curse of Blood

“Wow, you cut yourself without hesitation? Saintess, this hero really treasures you.”

Piercing Pain kept jabbering, but I didn’t hear her.

My mind was fixed on Orphe’s left arm—the gash and the blood seeping out.

Even a shallow cut wouldn’t stop bleeding. Strange.

Patricia and Monica looked rattled too.

“Some kind of bleeding curse?”

Orphe stayed calm.

Flowing Blood, hearing his murmur, clapped with satisfaction.

“Impressive! Quick to judge. If you’d been that sharp earlier, you’d be the one laughing now.”

He’d returned to his initial arrogance, arms crossed, staring at Orphe’s wound.

“My precious power from the Demon King, ‘Bloodflow’! Any wound, no matter how small, never stops bleeding.”

“Strange. Even for demons, casting curses remotely should be impossible.”

“Haha, there’s a way. Not that I’ll tell you.”

“Hey, hey, Hero, aren’t you curious about my power? Heehee!”

Her vulgar laugh grated my ears.

Orphe responded with indifference.

“Not really.”

“What?! I’m the reason you’re losing, and you’re not curious? Liar!”

“I didn’t ask about his either. He just blabbed.”

Flowing Blood’s face stiffened.

Yeah, he spilled his power without being asked.

Classic third-rate villain move from novels or movies.

No wonder he’s embarrassed.

But Piercing Pain, oblivious, kept yapping.

“No choice! I’ll tell you! My power is actually—mmph!”

“Little sister, I always say, the quieter you are, the stronger you seem.”

“Mmph!”

“Sorry, did I cover your mouth too hard?”

Piercing Pain gasped as Flowing Blood released her.

Hoo.

Her breath tickled my ear.

“Hmm, big brother’s right! Okay, next step then! But first…”

“Eek?!”

She kicked the back of my knee.

The bone-deep pain made me scream and collapse.

Her arms shifted from my throat to my chin, strangling me like a noose.

She sighed, relieved.

“Phew! You’re taller than me, Saintess. Strangling you was such a hassle. I had to tiptoe like when I hug big brother…”

“What did I say about seeming strong, little sister?”

“…Don’t talk too much.”

“Good, you remember. Can big brother handle the rest?”

Piercing Pain didn’t reply, but she must’ve nodded, as Flowing Blood took over.

“Hero.”

“What, goat bastard?”

“Repeating taunts loses effect. Didn’t you just learn that?”

Orphe shrugged, an unusually emotional gesture for him.

“Say what you want.”

“Acting reckless without knowing your fate… Fine, as you wish. Simple.”

Flowing Blood pointed at Orphe’s chest.

“Carve yourself up. Except the heart—humans die instantly from that.”

“Stop, Orphe!”
‘Fck, stop!’

“Keep that up, Saintess, and I’ll really slit your throat.”

Piercing Pain’s dagger pricked my neck again.

Blood dripped from the new wound.

“Kyaa!”

“You cowards!”

Monica and Patricia screamed, seeing me.

Fifirel, still hidden, probably felt the same.

Flowing Blood spoke with smug ease.

“What’s the holdup? Need your precious saintess hurt more to move?”

Orphe brought the dagger to his thigh.

Please, stop!

I shouted in panic.

“Orphe, I’ll sacrifice myself instead. Stop!”
‘Stab your thigh, and I’ll kill you!’

“Clerics and their self-sacrificing nonsense. Sick of it.”

Orphe gave a bitter smile.

He raised the dagger above his head.

“But I’m a temple guardian knight, aren’t I? Not one to talk.”

“Stop, please!”
‘Fcking idiot, stop!’

“No can do.”

He stabbed his thigh with all his strength.

A Bloody Sacrifice

Orphe was drenched in red.

Not some poetic sunset effect.

He’d succeeded in carving himself up.

Blood poured endlessly from every wound.

“Beautiful.”

Flowing Blood laughed in the silence.

“How’s it feel? Painful? Bad? Or a bit satisfying? Demons don’t feel pain, so I’m always curious~.”

“Talkative… Forgot your brother’s lesson already?”

Orphe’s breaths were labored, but his eyes stayed sharp.

Goddamn it.

If I hadn’t been caught, Orphe would’ve sliced these bastards with his holy sword.

Idiot, idiot!

Can’t even help, just dragging the hero down.

Some saintess I am.

Fck!

“Heehee, one more, and we’ll let the saintess go, so don’t growl too much, okay?”

“Spit it out…”

Piercing Pain kept her playful tone.

Fcking bitch.

If I get out of this, I’ll kill her myself.

“Hmm… This’ll do!”

She pointed at Orphe with her dagger hand.

“Just once, stab your heart!”

“Ha, little sister, you know humans die if their heart’s pierced, right?”

“Oh, really?!”

“Yup, that’s why I said avoid the heart.”

Piercing Pain hesitated at Flowing Blood’s chiding.

F*cking bastards, so creative.

In the novel, demons were just fodder Orphe split in half when bored.

But I’m holding him back.

If I hadn’t trashed the novel…

“Hmm… Then the neck? That’s fine, right?”

“Not bad. Hero, give your neck a light cut.”

Orphe raised his head with effort.

Even a hero can’t easily endure endless bleeding from multiple wounds.

Yet he showed no strain.

His expression was as calm as if he’d just gone for a walk.

“If that ends it.”

“Stop!”

“No!”

Despite our protests, Orphe cut his neck.

Gush!

Blood poured from his throat.

“Wow, humans bleed so much! He won’t die, right?”

“Looks fine to me. Shallow cut, won’t kill him. Would take a while even if he tried.”

“I wanna kill both the hero and saintess, but a promise is a promise, so here!”

The pressure on my neck vanished.

I stumbled toward Orphe without looking back.

His blood-soaked body was in tatters.

Why’d he end up like this just for me?

“Saintess…”

He struggled to meet my eyes.

Reaching out, he wiped my cheek with his thumb.

Some blood cleared from his hand.

“Why… are you crying? No one’s dead…”

“Sob… You call this talking? I said I’d sacrifice myself…”
‘Idiot, why don’t you listen!’

Orphe smiled, looking far too calm for someone near death.

“Guess… I got infected by your thinking… Swore off sacrificing for others…”

He pressed the blood-red dagger into my hands.

The same one he’d used to cut himself.

“Stab my heart with this…”

“What?”
‘You’re insane!’

“If my heart’s stabbed… I regress…”

Didn’t know that.

So he did this banking on that?

Then tell me beforehand!

“Next time… I’ll find the Pantheon first… and meet you…”

“Don’t talk, you’re bleeding more…”
‘Shut up already, please.’

“Teach you weapon skills… Your mace work’s still rough…”

He weakly grasped my hands holding the dagger.

“No guarantee we’ll meet again, but… take care of me if we do…”

“Don’t talk like you’re dying already.”
‘Stop talking, damn it!’

Who said you could die?

Do you know who’s standing in front of you?

I placed my hands on his chest.

The dagger pointed upward.

No intention of killing him, even by mistake.

“I beseech you.”
‘I beseech you.’

For the first time, I prayed with sincerity.

No specific target.

Not for a power.

“Have mercy on your servant.”
‘Have mercy on your servant.’

For the first time, I prayed for someone else.

“Forgive our sins and keep us from temptation.”
‘Forgive our sins and keep us from temptation.’

For Orphe, dying because of my failure.

“Deliver us from evil.”
‘Deliver us from evil.’

Hoping his pain would ease, even a little.

A blue halo appeared behind me for the first time.

[The God of Dreams answers your call.]

[The God of Dreams grants you the power of Daydream.]

Yes, if only.

If this were just a dream.

A blue light engulfed the clearing.