* * *

On one side, someone was busy asking for a name, while on the other, blood was spurting like a fountain as the creature howled in pain.

It was utter chaos, a multiverse of madness. The creature let out a gurgling sound as it spat out foam.

Sizzle…!

The foam rapidly corroded Carlisle’s gauntlet.

It wasn’t just any foam—it was acidic.

This merciless creature seemed to have no weaknesses.

‘I have to remember. It must have a weakness. Let’s think back to the original story.’

I bit my lower lip and tried to recall. If this was a monster that appeared in the middle of the story, it wouldn’t be that strong.

There had to be a way to defeat it.

In the novel, each Heretic appeared with a different grotesque appearance.

Luke and Carlisle would always figure out their weaknesses and devise clever strategies to defeat them.

I had racked my brain to come up with those strategies when I was writing, never imagining that I’d have to rely on them like this.

‘Wait, that appearance is definitely….’

A memory flashed through my mind, and I looked at the creature again.

“…Damn it!”

“What? Is your name ‘Damn it’?”

That giant eye on its torso was the hint. This creature was definitely that one.

The priest grimaced at the stench.

The village, reduced to ashes, looked like a scene straight out of hell.

The priest, looking around in disbelief, muttered to himself.

“The power to annihilate an entire village….”

Its limbs were long and lizard-like. Its mouth was blunt and protruding. Its neck was adorned with countless human hands.

But the most striking feature was the large eye on its chest.

Luke calmly examined the Heretic.

“Our side had a skilled boundary mage, so we weren’t caught in the explosion… but the other side was completely wiped out. It was my mistake not to stop the eye from opening.”

“…Is this really a human?”

“It depends on your perspective.”

The priest, unable to bear the stench, gagged. Luke, with a blank expression, patted the priest’s back.

‘The fact that I’m thinking about investigating in this situation… maybe I’m the one who’s not human.’

Luke gave a self-deprecating laugh before speaking calmly.

“To be precise, it’s a fusion of a demon and a human. When a human makes a pact with a demon, they get a new body. Like Jerome, who gained power through a pact with Mephisto.”

“But Jerome didn’t look like this. He still had some semblance of reason, albeit faint.”

“Jerome was born with tremendous magical power. But in most cases, after the pact, they can’t handle the immense power the demon grants them.”

Jerome was the first Heretic recorded in history. Luke still regretted that Jeanne had killed Jerome.

‘If only I had more time to torture and experiment on him, I could’ve gathered more samples.’

As the public said, she really was a useless woman. Luke pulled out a pocket watch from his coat. The watch still showed no reaction.

“The mind collapses first, followed by the body’s transformation. Just like the Heretic lying here.”

Luke put the pocket watch back in his coat and turned to leave.

“The spread of the Heretics is accelerating. We need to purify Maya’s sacred beasts that have been tainted by the evil forces as soon as possible.”

I remembered the appearance of the Heretic that had annihilated an entire village.

My heart trembled as I checked again, and the creature’s eye was already halfway open.

Without wasting any time, I jumped to my feet. The pain from my twisted ankle was sharp, but it didn’t matter.

Once that eye fully opened, it would destroy everything in the vicinity. Rather than dying in vain, I decided to at least try something.

‘Calling for help would be too late. The eye is already halfway open.’

Without hesitation, I grabbed an arrow from Carlisle’s quiver. As I ran toward the creature, gripping the arrow with both hands, Carlisle cursed loudly.

“What the hell are you doing…?”

“Cover me!”

The creature, realizing I was aiming for its eye, roared in my direction. Carlisle’s eyes briefly showed surprise as he watched me sprinting toward it.

Just before the monster’s tail struck me, Carlisle, with his quick reflexes, drove a greatsword into the monster’s mouth.

“Griieek, Griiek….”

The reflection of myself appeared in the monster’s eyes, which were on the verge of fully opening.

The monster, which began emitting something like a crimson glow, trembled as if it were about to explode.

Only one thought filled my mind.

‘I can’t die here.’

I raised the hand holding the arrow and thrust it with all my strength into the monster’s nearly fully opened eye.

‘I can’t die like this!’

Screeeeaaach…!

The monster, which had been letting out a painful scream, soon went limp. Its half-opened eyes slowly closed.

The moment I saw its closed eyes, my legs gave out, and I collapsed, gasping for breath.

“Ugh….”

Maybe it was the relief of having prevented the eye monster from self-destructing, but strength drained from my entire body.

Carlisle, who had approached unnoticed, sat down across from me. Resting his chin on his hand, he looked at me and spoke.

“I was told to protect you, so I did.”

“……”

“But it’s a bit suspicious. Charging at the monster so bravely. Especially for a lady who must have been raised gently.”

My heart raced at his sharp observation. Carlisle was right.

It was indeed suspicious that Jeanne, the duke’s daughter, didn’t show any fear upon seeing the monster.

I forced myself to maintain composure and replied sarcastically.

“You must not know, but in Sacre, even women hunt directly. I only helped because you seemed to be struggling. Your swordsmanship was really poor.”

“Ah, so you’re from Sacre.”

Though I meant to provoke him, Carlisle remained unperturbed, which left me more flustered.

As the silence stretched on, a raindrop fell on my cheek. Somewhere, a wolf’s howl echoed.

‘I need to get out of here quickly.’

I tried to stand up, but immediately collapsed again. My swollen ankle, making movement difficult, came into view.

Without hesitation, Carlisle rose to his feet, leaving me behind.

“Well then, I’ll be off.”

“W-wait a minute!”

I called out to Carlisle, who was about to leave. He turned around with an indifferent expression. I hesitated, lowering my head.

Damn it, I really didn’t want to get involved. But with my ankle like this, I might have to spend the night in this forest where wolves howl.

Clenching my fists, I avoided his gaze.

“My name is Jeanne, Jeanne van Efilia.”

“Jeanne?”

“Have you heard of it?”

Carlisle nodded. After pondering something for a moment, he walked over with long strides.

“Are you the adopted daughter of Duke Carlotte, the one he took in to make her a saintess?”

“…That’s right.”

There was a hint of killing intent in Carlisle’s gaze. The moment I saw that look, I suddenly recalled the original story.

Carlisle had pursued an engagement with Jeanne to stop Duke Carlotte’s excessive overreach.

‘…Would it have been better not to tell him? Carlisle has no reason to help Jeanne here. Jeanne is the adopted daughter of Duke Efilia, who the imperial family is wary of.’

The drizzling rain soaked my body.

Was it because of the cold, or because Carlisle, drenched in monster blood, was silently looking down at me?

A chill ran down my spine.

‘Should I kill Carlisle first?’

My eyes fell on the dagger hanging from Carlisle’s waist.

It was within reach if I just stretched out my hand.

In this deep forest, there would be no witnesses.

If I took that dagger and killed Carlisle here, his death, like Ian’s, would be written off as an attack by heretics.

‘Then I wouldn’t have to get engaged, would I?’

I knew it was a selfish thought. But I was that terrified. Even as we were talking, Jeanne’s execution scene kept flashing before my eyes.

A flash of lightning illuminated Carlisle’s face.

As he reached out to me, I stared at him in shock and tightly closed my eyes.

“Are you cold?”

…Huh?

I slowly raised my head and examined Carlisle’s expression.

There was no trace of malice on his face, which was now smiling kindly.

Carlisle took off the hood he was wearing and draped it over my shoulders.

“You’ve been shivering and snapping since earlier, so I was going to leave it here.”

Caught off guard by his unexpected reaction, I made a dumbfounded expression. His large hands brushed my cheek as he fastened the hood’s buttons.

Then, Carlisle slipped his arms under my knees and effortlessly lifted me.

“It would be a shame for such a beauty to be bitten to death by wolves.”

Carlisle placed me on Ian’s horse and took the reins.

The horse, which had been glancing back at Ian’s corpse, finally started walking after Carlisle stroked its mane.

“Do you know the story of the priest’s bluebird?”

In the silence, Carlisle spoke first. I looked at him with a groggy mind.

I nodded slightly, urging him to continue, and Carlisle went on.

“Once, a priest healed a bluebird with a broken leg, and the next day, the plague that had been ravaging the village disappeared. The priest thought that the bluebird had performed a miracle.”

“……”

“So… the villagers developed a custom of praying for miracles whenever they encountered a bluebird. Interesting, isn’t it?”

“…Why are you telling me this?”

“Not everyone is like that priest. If that bluebird truly had the power to bring miracles, a person would more likely break its leg and lock it up in their house.”

I frowned at the cryptic bluebird story. From afar, I heard someone calling Carlisle’s name. My unsteady body finally tipped to one side.

‘No, I can’t lose consciousness here….’

With a whinny, the horse came to a stop.

“So, Jeanne.”

Just before I fell off the horse, Carlisle caught me and whispered in a subdued voice.

“You’d better avoid becoming a saintess.”

His grip on my shoulder tightened. Even in my hazy state of mind, his chilling words resonated clearly.

“Unless you want to end up broken.”

* * *