BJ Villainess Chapter 349

The priests seemed momentarily flustered, but quickly took battle stances.

 

“So, you’re a cultist of the Evil God? Why would you confess that?”

 

“I owe this territory. I just don’t want to see its people die endlessly.”

 

“Heh. A cultist of the Evil God is that humane? Hard to believe. If you’re causing trouble for no reason, we’ll make an example of you with execution.”

 

Yeah. I knew they wouldn’t believe me if I confessed.

 

“Either way, I’m the one you’ve been trying to find, right? I’ll give you a chance, so send all the others here back. If not, I’ll offer them all to the Evil God and awaken them!” Then, I bit my hand hard enough to wound it and demonstrated my self-healing ability. The reaction was intense when they saw the black butterfly mark appear on the back of my hand.

 

“Kyaaa! Help!”

 

“It was you, the cultist of the Evil God!”

 

“Attack!”

 

The priests attacked me, but perhaps because they were ordinary priests with low stats, their holy attacks didn’t work on me at all.

 

Now I get how Sella beat them. On the other hand, I had already become a cultist of Evil God, who had already devoured four people with my shadows. They must have realized the difference in our power when they saw me using healing powers—because they had gone pale.

 

The ordinary priests seemed to shift tactics from attack to persuasion and tried to talk to me.

 

“Are you really saying you’ll let the girls go if we comply?”

 

If they were facing a truly evil cultist of the Evil God, they’d all be dead by now. Ah. I guess they were already dead in the original story.

 

How frustrating. Well, I figured it would go like this.

 

“Why are you stalling? What trick are you trying to pull?”

 

I snapped, irritated, and walked toward the girls who were huddled against the wall, as if picking one at random. Then, I pretended to grab Sella as a hostage by coincidence. “If you don’t want to see her die, open the door right now!”

 

Sella, who was calmly held by me with an amused expression, suddenly giggled. “Wow, how interesting. Turns out there is another cultist of the Evil God here?”

 

I asked, deliberately arrogantly. “What? Do you have a death wish?” That should be enough to make me look like a real cultist of the Evil God.

 

“Don’t worry. We’re friends. Oh, want to see my ability?” As if to prove she was also a cultist of the Evil God, Sella bound a nearby priest in the shadows.

 

Now! I waited until she used her powers on someone else and attacked. Shff!

 

“What the hell are you doing?!” Sella thrashed as she got caught by the same method she had used. “Let me go now! I’m a cultist of the Evil God too!”

 

“I know, Sella.” If I let you live, everyone here would die.

 

“How do you know my na…?” Before she could finish, she was swallowed by the shadows.

 

The priest who nearly died from Sella’s attack was saved thanks to me and did not sink into the shadows. The other priests stared at me in disbelief, stunned that I had saved their lives.

 

I sighed and tapped on the iron bars. “Let the girls go. They really aren’t cultists of the Evil God.”

 

“…Ah! Y-Yes!”

 

The girls, who had only been screaming and crying, now kept stealing glances at me after witnessing the bizarre scene. One small girl, barely half my height, grabbed my hand cautiously before leaving the cell. “Thank you, Sister.”

 

“Come here, May!”

 

Then a curly-haired girl, seemingly her older sister, hurried over and pulled her away. Though the older girl clearly feared me, she bowed slightly and exited the prison with her sister.

 

I didn’t save them for thanks, but receiving gratitude still felt strange. Now I should start thinking about how to save myself. I already knew who all the priests of the Evil God were. Could I use that to plead for my life somehow? I was thinking about it when—

 

Thump-thump! Thump-thump! Suddenly, my heart started racing wildly. My whole body burned and my mind blurred. What’s happening to me? As I felt like my body was floating and drained of strength, I suddenly moved on my own and activated my power. Sssss! The ground from where I stood rapidly turned black. The area became my domain.

 

No way.

 

A dark zone had formed—an ability exclusive to high-ranking cultists.

 

“N-No! Please help!”

 

“Urgh! I can’t escape!”

 

The priests sank slowly, as if they were trapped in a swamp. Amidst the screams, I just stood and watched blankly.

 

Why is this happening? Please stop! Could this be a bug triggered by attacking another cultist of the Evil God? In the game, cultists of the Evil God couldn’t kill each other. So maybe this really was a bug.

 

At this rate, the entire territory would be wiped out. I could feel it in my gut. No, this defeats the whole point of stopping Sella!

 

I felt like I was going crazy. I didn’t want this, but my body wouldn’t listen. It was terrifying and painful. I cried from helplessness.

 

No. I don’t want to kill anyone. Please stop!

 

 

“Please, st…op! I… don’t want… to kill… anyone…!”

 

“Is that how you truly feel?”

 

When I saw who suddenly appeared and asked me that question, my heart sank. To think I’d met Ilya here. He was a cardinal with immense divine power who served as a mentor to the player in <God’s Play>.

 

While speaking to me, Ilya calmly purified the entire area. The priests who had been sinking into the shadows returned to the surface.

 

“Cardinal Ilya!” They were overjoyed at the arrival of a powerful ally.

 

Now that Ilya was here, no trick I used could save me. If I were to die, would I return to Earth? Or would this be the end?

 

That’s fine. I didn’t want to kill anyone anymore. If that’s the case, I’d rather die. I closed my eyes and waited for death to come, feeling a strange peace.

 

“I asked if that’s how you truly feel, and you prepare to die. Is that your answer?”

 

Did it matter if I genuinely didn’t want to kill? Even if I had good intentions, I’d just tried to destroy the entire domain.

 

A cultist of the Evil God is absolute evil and must be eradicated. That’s the goal of this game.

 

At that moment, for some reason, Ilya gently caressed my cheek with his large hand. His touch was surprisingly gentle, as if he were handling something precious. Startled by the unexpected action, I opened my eyes, and he lifted my head to face him.

 

“…!”

 

He was much closer than I expected, looking down at me from a breath’s distance.

 

Ilya asked, “Did you know that cultists of the Evil God can’t shed tears?”

 

“…Huh?”

 

That’s right. That’s part of the game setting. So why can I cry?

 

While I sat there confused, Ilya addressed the priests. “I’ll be taking this girl with me.”

 

* * *

Inside a rattling carriage, I thought to myself. How did it come to this? It had already been five days since I left Lambert territory. I thought revealing myself as a cultist of the Evil God would leave me with only a bleak future—but things were turning out differently.

 

Why are they taking me to the Great Temple?

 

I glared sideways at the elegant cardinal sitting beside me. Unaware of my inner turmoil, he continued reading his book gracefully. Was he planning to torture me in the temple? Or maybe experiment on me since I’m a strange cultist of the Evil God who can cry?

 

Ilya is not the type to do something so cruel, though. But he wasn’t the type to foolishly try to save a cultist of the Evil God either. So when was he planning to kill me?

 

He’s not even dragging me like a dog. He let me ride in his own carriage. This carriage was far too luxurious for someone who was practically a criminal. I learned that firsthand after sleeping in it comfortably for five days.

 

And he even gives me meals. His treating me like a normal girl left me confused about his intentions. I wish he’d say something.

 

I sighed and glanced at the pile of books across from me. They were all theological texts.

 

Priests and priestesses raise their divine power through theological study. Compared to cultists of the Evil God, who gained power by sacrificing people to the shadows, that was an incredibly noble method.

 

The game never showed the contents of the books. It makes me curious now. Unable to contain my boredom, I peeked at what he was reading.

 

Then Ilya spoke. “Don’t peek into the book without permission.”

 

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

 

When I quickly apologized, he finally closed the book and looked directly at me.

 

“…”

 

Please don’t stare at me.

 

True to his status as a main character, Ilya was frighteningly handsome. Just making eye contact made my heart pound and sweat form. I felt overwhelmed and wanted to flee.

 

As I shrank back nervously, Ilya spoke in a slightly displeased tone. “I wasn’t trying to scold you.”

 

“Then…?”

 

“If a cultist of the Evil God reads this book, they’ll feel searing pain—as if burned. Theology books are filled with holy energy.”

 

So that’s why…

 

Moments ago, I had been awed by his inhuman handsomeness, and now, disarmed by his unexpected kindness, I let down my guard a little.

 

That wasn’t part of the game. How interesting.

 

Before he returned to reading, I hurriedly asked the question I had long held in. “Um… Why are you being kind to me, Lord Ilya?”