‘So what?’
The Disaster Source said in a nearly rogue-like tone, mimicking a piece of internet slang from Aurelia’s memories.
‘…You old bastard, what exactly have you been looking at in my head?’
Aurelia gritted her teeth in her mind.
This feeling of being spied on, imitated, and even teased in the manner of her homeland was even more disgusting than the previous flowery temptations.
It meant that the other party was not only watching but also learning.
It was even trying to interact in the way most familiar to her.
This kind of infiltration was harder to guard against than direct erosion.
‘All sorts of things. For example, these things called memes are used extensively in daily conversations, along with all kinds of meaningless repetitive dialogues… Hmm, it is truly baffling.’
Aurelia felt a wave of helpless headache, and the wound on her neck seemed to throb faintly along with the fluctuation of her emotions.
She forced herself to move her attention away from the increasingly personified and annoying old bastard in her head, refocusing on the realistic problems before her.
Aurelia steadied herself and used her free hand to gently cover Rena’s trembling hand.
“Rena,” Aurelia’s voice regained its previous stability, and she even intentionally softened it a bit more, “listen to me.”
Rena lifted her head with teary eyes, looking into Aurelia’s red eyes that were filled with gentleness.
“The Bishop’s judgment was based on several premises: that you were beyond cure, that you would become a source of pollution, and that your death was more valuable than your life,” Aurelia said each word clearly.
“But now, none of those premises are valid.”
“You will not become a Corrupted God’s Artifact, and you will not be abandoned again. Although I do not have enough power right now… I swear, I will establish an Order to protect those who have been abandoned because of the Power of Calamity. And you are one of the people I intend to protect.”
“I…”
Rena’s lips trembled incessantly, her voice tiny.
“I… Can I… really…”
She did not dare say words like “be saved” or “live on,” as if they were an extravagant hope.
“As long as you do not give up on yourself, no one can define your ending. Just like now—did you ever think you would be saved by me after being abandoned by the Church?”
“No…”
Aurelia chuckled and nodded, continuing, “Mhm. There is a saying that when God—cough, when the God closes a door, He surely opens a window for you. Right now, I am that window for you.”
‘It is quite interesting. Your world clearly has no gods, yet a large number of humans believe that gods exist. This is equally baffling.’
‘It’s not your turn to criticize, you half-human, half-ghost old bastard.’
After hearing Aurelia’s words, Rena nodded with a look of partial understanding.
“I… I understand. Thank you… Aurelia…”
Aurelia nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, “Did you receive any notifications at the Church?”
Rena froze for a moment when she heard the question, seemingly trying to fish out memories of Church notifications from her chaotic and fearful thoughts.
Her pale little face wrinkled slightly, and a confused look of effort appeared in her violet eyes.
“Notification…?”
She murmured, her fingers unconsciously twisting her ragged Trainee Priest robes.
“Before… before the mission, I did hear some news…”
She paused, seemingly organizing her words, and then continued uncertainly, “Probably… probably one month ago? The news came from Shadowlight City. They said… said a new God-Blessed was born there.”
When mentioning the term God-Blessed, Rena’s tone unconsciously carried an air of reverence.
That was an instinctive respect for the chosen ones engraved into the bones of every member of the clergy, even though she herself had just been abandoned by the Church.
“It is said that the title of that God-Blessed is… Brave. It is a reawakening of the bloodline after a thousand years of extinction. Then, within a few days of the awakening, he was already being escorted by several Holy Knights and High Saints toward the Holy City…”
She stole a glance at Aurelia and Helen before adding, “According to the travel estimates… it seems that in these few days, he should be passing through the region near Twilight City. The Church and the City Guard have recently strengthened their security and patrols. It… it might be related to this. The big figures in the city definitely want to meet this noble Lord Brave.”
There wasn’t much excitement in her tone; instead, it felt somewhat detached.
Once upon a time, she would have felt heartfelt joy and longing for such a divine miracle.
But now, she only felt cold and alienated.
‘Noble? That red-haired trash? I didn’t expect this little ant who doesn’t understand Divine Arts to be so good at telling jokes.’
‘Would it kill you to stay quiet?’
However, that guy actually awakened the Braveblood?
Because of what?
Just because he slashed her a few times?
Was it that magical?
Aurelia decided to set that question aside for now and followed up, “That Lord Brave you mentioned—is he a young man with red hair who is skilled with a Magic Sword and appears very steady and gentle on the surface?”
Rena froze again, then shook her head.
“I don’t know. I only know about these things from hearsay. I haven’t seen him in person. I only know he comes from Shadowlight City…”
“Sister Liya, could it be that you know this newly appointed Lord Brave?”
Helen, who was beside them, suddenly spoke.
He had clearly been holding it in for a long time and spoke very quickly.
“I…”
Aurelia looked at the Little Priestess and the boy, seeing their doubt mixed with a hint of expectation.
After hesitating for a long time, she finally gave a heavy nod.
However, before the two could celebrate, Aurelia spoke to cut off any thoughts of further questioning.
“I do know him.”
She then pointed to the bandage on her neck.
“This was slashed by his own hand.”
As she expected, the two immediately showed expressions of shock.
Especially the Little Priestess; knowing that the God-Blessed she once admired was the perpetrator who wounded her savior left her completely stunned.
“In short, that guy believed I was a Dragonkin who possessed the Power of Calamity and would inevitably become a Corrupted God’s Artifact. So he slashed me. Yeah, that’s it.”
The way she said it made it sound like a simple misunderstanding.
But as for what exactly happened and in what manner, Aurelia did not mention the details.
She didn’t want to recall the events of that night or the face of that damn red-haired guy.
It would only make her heart grow colder.
Compared to Helen, who had already witnessed Aurelia’s strength, Rena quickly caught the main point and looked at Aurelia with eyes full of disbelief.
“Dragonkin… You are a Dragonkin?”
Rena looked as if she had heard an incredibly shocking secret.
Her beautiful purple eyes widened as she stared intently at the black-haired girl.
But soon, her head dropped again, and her shock turned to confusion.
“Why would Lord Brave mistake you for having the Power of Calamity…”
Then, she thought of the Power of Calamity that had mysteriously disappeared from her own body and looked at Aurelia again, seemingly seeking confirmation.
“Yes, it is exactly what you think. This self-righteous, mysterious, merciless, annoying, unreasonable, and refusing to listen to explanations Lord Brave… believed that I, Aurelia, was the Disaster Source.”
“How could Lord Brave…”
Aurelia did not wait for Rena to finish.
She interrupted her using that gentle tone she had already mastered.
“Rena, relax. Listen to me.”
Her body leaned forward slightly, meeting those purple eyes.
**[Ahem. And now, it is time for grand principles and chicken soup for the soul.]**
“The thing you should believe in is not the Brave’s judgment, nor the Church’s decree, nor even my explanation,” Aurelia’s voice was very soft yet incredibly clear.
“The thing you should believe in is the judgment of your own heart—what you have seen with your own eyes and felt with your own body. And now, you have three paths to choose from.”
“First, choose to believe in me—an ordinary person labeled as the Disaster Source by the Brave, someone who can barely protect herself but saved you and is trying to promise you a possibly beautiful future.”
“This path means you must abandon everything you once believed in, give up your stability, and step into the unknown, the dangerous, and perhaps even eternal darkness and flight.”
“It means you will become an enemy of the so-called light and orthodoxy, and an enemy of that Brave who might be worshipped by ten thousand people in the future. But it will give you the chance to see with your own eyes what a true Disaster is and what true protection is.”
“I will do my best to protect those around me and try to erase the Power of Calamity that brings pain and destruction. Even though… it sounds contradictory.”
“Second,” Aurelia continued, her voice remaining steady.
“Act as if nothing happened. Forget everything about today, forget being abandoned by the Church, and forget that it was I who saved you. You can find a way to return to the Twilight City Church branch or any safe chapel you can find.”
“You can weep bitterly and tell them how you were kidnapped by a contaminated Dragonkin, how you luckily escaped, and how you finally returned to the embrace of the light after many hardships.”
“Given your age and what you’ve endured, combined with some appropriate testimony, the Church might accept you again, giving you a chance to reform and continue serving the God.”
“You might be able to wear clean Saint robes again and live a life that, while frugal and stable, is regular. You won’t have to live in fear anymore, and you won’t have to face these things… that are beyond your understanding and endurance.”
She paused, watching Rena lower her head in hesitation, and continued, “Third, give it all up. Return to your hometown and live out the rest of your life in peace. No heartless Church abandoning you, and no Dragonkin with nothing but empty words.”
“However… this third path is actually too idealized. If the Church finds out you returned home, they will likely find you immediately to demand how your Power of Calamity was removed.”
Rena waited for Aurelia to finish, then slowly lifted her head to look at her through teary eyes.
The black-haired girl leaned against the back of the chair with her eyes half-closed.
Her face was as pale as paper, and the bandage on her neck was stained with dark red.
She looked so fragile, as if she might collapse at any moment.
But it was this person, who looked even weaker than her, who grabbed her when everyone else had abandoned her and sentenced her to death, giving her the possibility of life.
“As long as you do not give up on yourself, no one can define your ending.”
“The thing you should believe in is the judgment of your own heart—what you have seen with your own eyes and felt with your own body.”
These words were like a faint spark in the abyss of despair, making her feel… seen, and giving her the warmth of a promise.
Was Lord Brave… truly holy?
If he truly represented light and justice, why would he mercilessly slash a girl who looked so weak and had even saved her?
Was the Church’s judgment truly correct?
If being correct meant easily sacrificing an innocent Trainee Saint who was simply unfortunate enough to be contaminated, then was that kind of correctness… truly worth believing in and serving for the rest of her life?
As cowardly as she was, she had finally been pushed to the edge, driven into a corner where she had to make a choice for herself.
She looked at Helen, the boy who remained silent but always stood by Aurelia’s side.
In his eyes, there was concern, encouragement, and a kind of almost blind trust.
If even a boy she had met by chance dared to bet his destiny on the girl before them, how could she—someone the girl had personally snatched back from the hands of death—not even have the courage to try and believe, to grab the only hand reaching out to her?
After a long silence, Rena rubbed her swollen eyes, which were red from crying.
She spoke to Aurelia in a choked voice, “I… I choose the first path…”