Chapter 44
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I'll purchase divine power with money. Chapter 44 【Warning: A follower of another god approaching the user harbors murderous intent. Exercise caution.】 This is absurd. So someone infiltrated the Temple of the Sun God to kill me right now? I could at least understand if it were someone staying within the Temple of the Sun God who held a grudge against me. After all, Ordel Kiris isn't the only person she's wronged. But why would a follower of another god be involved? Ordel Kiris is a fake saint who doesn't even perform her duties, so she shouldn't have had any reason to meet people from other temples.
"...."
My body trembled with indignation, but I closed my eyes again and pretended to toss restlessly, rolling onto my side. Because Ordel Kiris's nature is so repugnant, no one stays in this vicinity. And with Victoria Lawrence gone, there's no one to call for help. I have to overcome this situation alone. 【Alert! A follower of another god is rapidly approaching the user.】 The fortunate part is that I'm not entirely alone. I stared intently at the AI system continuously displaying warning messages and waited in silence. Beep, beep, beep! The warnings echoing in my mind grew faster and faster. As if someone kept drawing closer. And then. Beep beep beep beep beep! The moment the warnings blared frantically. 【Activating skill 'Body Enhancement'.】 I pulled my hand from beneath the pillow and swung it through the air. Crack! A sharp, crisp impact resonated through my fingertips.
"Ugh, cough!"
A pained groan escaped as something heavy crashed down with a thunderous bang. As I sat up slightly, I could see a figure wrapped entirely in black cloth trembling beneath the bed, from head to toe. Blood dripped from the head the figure clutched, so fortunately my strike had landed properly.
"Wow, this really is perfect as a weapon, isn't it?"
I gazed with satisfaction at what I'd wielded. This was the jewelry box I'd hidden beneath my pillow, thinking it might be useful as a weapon someday. In other words, it was the divine artifact—a box I'd created out of boredom—that held the sacred relic of light.
"So that's why they said the divine artifact was superior to the sacred relic because it's so durable."
I looked at the fallen blade beside the writhing figure. Anyone who came at night with both murderous intent and a sword could only be an assassin. I felt rage surge from my core, thinking that if the divine artifact hadn't been so sturdy, my head would have shattered instead.
"Who are you?"
I nudged the spy sprawled on the floor with my foot. The physical impact from the divine artifact had been considerable—the man remained thoroughly dazed. This is what happens when you approach an innocent person with such intentions.
"First, I need to make sure he can't escape..."
I instinctively patted my waist, but my fingers only grasped smooth fabric. Right, I'm not a detective anymore. Of course I wouldn't have handcuffs. Then rope either... Obviously not. I had no choice. I began removing the spy's upper garment.
"Ah, wait—" "Stay still."
The moment he started struggling back to consciousness, I struck him again with the jeweled box. He immediately went limp. He listens well.
"Don't worry, I'm not a pervert. I just can't tear up my own clothes or bedding."
With money already bleeding out in every direction, why would I destroy my own belongings? Tearing up the spy's clothes to bind him was free and perfect. I stripped away his upper garment entirely, tore it into long strips, and bound his arms. Then I ripped his pants down to his thighs and secured his legs. Whatever horrific training this assassin had endured, despite appearing lean, his entire body was covered in muscles like weapons. This truly was a dangerous man. Without the system, I would have been killed without question in this second life. I leveled the jeweled box at his head with a cold gaze.
"Which god sent you?"
Among the three major gods, excluding the Sun God, only two remained. Honestly, it wasn't even worth the time to deliberate. The answer was obvious.
"The Sea God?"
The other god had no contact with me whatsoever. But the Sea God was different. Hadn't I recently done something to displease them?
"Did our potion business really bother you that much?"
A laugh escaped me. There was no law saying only they could run the potion business, and it had originally been the Sun God Temple's primary enterprise. We simply resumed it, and they immediately send an assassin after me? I'd anticipated we'd clash eventually, but I never expected them to jump straight to assassination attempts like this.
"What orders were you given?"
I gripped the man's jaw as his head kept lolling, and lifted it. Through the mask's opening, I could see unfocused, hazy eyes. Had I hit him too hard? I needed to obtain physical evidence that the Sea God sent this assassin, but if he lost consciousness completely, that would be problematic. I had no choice. 【Skill 'Blessing' activates. Wounds are healed.】 I'd never used the healing power from Blessing before. And now I'm using it for the first time on an assassin sent to kill me.
"You should be grateful to me. You blessed—cough."
Thud, thump. The moment I coughed, I stopped speaking and looked down. That sticky sensation, that metallic smell. Blood—so terribly familiar. What is this? Why am I coughing up blood?
"Hack, cough! Gag!"
The abnormality wasn't limited to my body alone. The assassin convulsed with a sharp cry.
"Ugh! Cough!"
But I had no time to observe him. Another fit of blood-tinged coughing seized me. What on earth was causing this? 【The healing power of 'Sun Risen from Death' collides with the curse of 'Raging Sea'!】 【Strain accumulates upon the user's body!】 "...A curse?" 'Raging Sea' was unmistakably an epithet of the Sea God, yet a curse? This wretch—was he truly an assassin sent by the Sea God Temple? Then he should be a believer, so why does he carry a curse within his body?
"No, wait."
A curse from the Sea God? Now that I think about it, something like this did appear in the original work. 「Idella was astounded. Jeremy Carls was clad in the Sea God's curse like armor across his entire body. Because of this, no one's attacks could touch him, and no one's brainwashing could affect him. He was already brainwashed by the god. Bound never to betray the divine. Ah, so that's it. Idella finally understood. He was no mere assassin. The title of Holy Knight Commander candidate was merely a label others had forced upon him. Jeremy Carls was a branded slave of the god.」 Yes, that's right. There was such a scene. Jeremy Carls. One of four male lead candidates appearing in the novel "Holy Idella" and a Holy Knight Commander candidate of the Sea God Temple. An assassin who, according to the Sea God Temple's will in the novel, had attempted to kill Idella countless times. That scene was where Idella, having barely subdued Jeremy Carls, learns the truth about him. I immediately tore away the assassin's mask. The first thing visible was coarse hair matted with blood and sweat. It appeared nearly black in the darkness of night, but up close, it was violet. And those unfocused eyes I hadn't properly seen before—they were a rare pink. Violet hair, pink eyes, and a face so expressionless and cold, yet with an unmistakable youthful delicacy. It matched the description of Jeremy Carls, the youngest of the four male lead candidates, perfectly.
"Good heavens."
I roughly swept the bothersome hair back. An unexpected encounter with a male lead character. What was I supposed to do about this? 'I can't just let him die like this.' Even now, as healing power and curse continued to collide, Jeremy suffered in agony. The horrifying part was that despite writhing in agony, his face remained utterly expressionless. His body convulsed with pain so intense that suppressed groans escaped his lips, yet his face betrayed no emotion whatsoever. I'd only read about divine curses in novels—I never imagined they could be this cruel. That insane Sea God. How could he embed such a curse into a human body? Knock, knock.
"Holy Maiden?"
At the sound of that voice, I lifted my head abruptly. It was Seth Noel, the Holy Knight Commander.
"Forgive the intrusion. I was passing by when I heard commotion coming from the bedroom...."
Seth's words trailed off.
"Ugh, uuuugh!"
Jeremy Carls' scream erupted.
"I'm coming in!"
Without waiting for my response, Seth burst through the door and rushed inside.
"Holy Maiden...?"
His expression went blank as he took in the scene. Yes, it was chaotic enough to defy explanation. A beautiful young man, half-naked, thrashed across the floor while I pinned him down from above.... Wait, this looks exactly like I dragged a man into my bedroom!
"Holy Knight Commander, please don't misunderstand. This man is...!"
I was about to say he was an assassin sent by the Sea God when I hastily clamped my mouth shut. If I said that, wouldn't Seth's eyes go wild and he'd kill him on the spot? That absolutely cannot happen. Since Jeremy Carls is a male lead candidate, he'll play an important role later—I must keep him alive no matter what! ...The problem is, I can't explain that right now. This is driving me insane. What do I do? Cold sweat trickled down my back.
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