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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: TushChen
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Elin wasn’t simply walking.
That was certain.
The evidence was that the danger detection skill was sending a tingling signal that made my whole body feel like it was going numb.
The murderous intent Elin was directing at Elena wasn’t straying and targeting me.
However, even though the murderous intent wasn’t directed at me, the danger detection skill was still activating.
‘Does that mean something is happening around Elin that could sweep me up?’
I tensed up, stepped back, and quickly observed the situation.
What was happening?
Very carefully.
‘That’s it!’
After checking the surroundings for a moment, I discerned what the danger Elin was spreading around her was.
It was dark at night, so it wasn’t easy to see at first glance, but the colors around Elin were subtly distorted.
‘Divine Field’
It’s when users of divine power were granted the power of god to a specific range around them.
Initially, it was a power that only high-ranking priests could use. Still, Elin was already the saintess of the evil god Yuan.
It would be more strange if she couldn’t use it.
Divine Fields basically vary in nature depending on the god.
In the case of the most representative god, Nephthys, the Divine Field increased the physical abilities of those within it and boosted their courage.
‘And Yuan…’
Yuan was the god of poison.
The Divine Field created by his saintess would intoxicate those within it.
According to the setting, the poison was so potent that it could transform living organisms and objects.
‘If you enter, you die.’
That’s how you should think of it.
In the original work, Elin, who had taken Elena’s place, had never used the Divine Field.
When the protagonist asked why she didn’t use it, Elin, in the original work, said that it seemed she hadn’t been recognized by the god yet.
Of course, it was a lie.
Because she was the saintess of Yuan, she didn’t use the Divine Field.
And now, she was using that power.
To kill Elena, who initially should have died.
Elin’s silver eyes, walking towards us relentlessly, no longer held any fragments of reason.
‘Why is she trying so hard to kill Elena?’
As I tried to find an answer to that question, I also thought about how to break the Divine Field.
The Divine Field used divine power.
Naturally, even the void attribute magic that nullified magic couldn’t be practical against it.
Moreover, the Divine Field was protected by the divine power of a god, so hastily prepared magic couldn’t affect its interior.
Magic of the same level as the Divine Field, a high-level magic, was needed.
‘But if she has such power, why was she captured by the slave traders?’
It seemed like there was something that hadn’t been revealed yet.
In that brief moment of pondering, Elin had already come quite close.
“Elin, wait a moment. Elena is already inside.”
I opened my mouth, intending to stop Elin for now.
However, Elin’s footsteps were relentless.
She had no intention of listening in the first place.
“What’s going on?”
Just then, Elena opened the door and poked her head out.
The timing couldn’t be worse.
“El…”
“Oh my, Lady Elin!”
Before I could answer, Elena noticed Elin walking and smiled brightly.
I immediately snatched Elena’s hand as she tried to approach Elin.
“No.”
At my words, Elena widened her eyes as if perplexed.
“Ah… why, why are you doing this, Young Lord?! Eek!”
I pulled Elena’s hand firmly and slowly backed away.
When I glanced at Elin, I saw Elena’s eyes wavering anxiously at this sudden situation.
But there was no choice.
‘I said I would take responsibility.’
I had made up my mind.
The responsibility for giving Elena a reason to fear.
The responsibility for completely changing her life.
And I would definitely protect her.
‘Mental shock’
I thought of one of the most representative ways to destroy a Divine Field.
Like regular magic, sacred magic, and Divine Fields are greatly influenced by the mind.
The imagery created to use magic is only strong faith and prayer to the god in sacred magic and Divine Fields.
And to do that, you need to focus your mind.
So if I revealed a shocking truth and disturbed her mind, the Divine Field would be temporarily destroyed.
Then, I could subdue Elin.
“Listen carefully, Elin.”
I spoke while continuing to distance myself from Elin.
However,
Damn it.
Elin didn’t give me time to speak and rushed towards us.
“Run for now!”
“Whaaat?!”
I took the confused Elena and dashed through the corridor of my house at night.
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Elin couldn’t see well in front of her.
No matter how often she rubbed her eyes, her vision remained hazy.
It seemed as if the moonlight had distorted everything in a dizzying way.
The walls, the windows, and even the moonlight coming in from outside were twisted and distorted.
However, the two people moving away from her were clearly visible even in that distortion.
‘Kill.’
That whisper was dominating Elin right now.
Elin didn’t reject that whisper.
After all, that feeling was just an amplification of Elin’s emotions from the beginning.
One of them was a girl.
A girl who looked exactly like Elin, as if facing herself with a mirror between them.
The girl’s name was Elena.
Similar faces. Similar names. Same age.
A girl who resembled her in many ways and also differed in many ways.
Elin hated her so much that she couldn’t stand it.
Was it because of the god? Or was it entirely her own feeling?
Elin couldn’t tell.
And a boy was holding that girl’s hand and running away.
The boy suddenly appeared in that alley and interfered with her when she was about to follow the god’s words.
She didn’t know the reason or his identity.
However, the boy treated her as if he knew many things.
His words were blunt, but he was more serious about others than anyone else.
Even when he spitefully knocked away the bread Nias had taken out of the lunchbox, he was clearly acting for the sake of others.
Elin hadn’t seen such a person in a long time.
The people she encountered this far all had cold and frightening eyes.
Elin thought she might come to like him.
But now that boy was running away with the girl she hated.
‘Why?’
Elin thought to find an answer.
And soon, she came to a conclusion.
That boy also liked Elena better.
Just like everyone else.
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I ran through the corridor, holding Elena’s hand.
Even though I used wind magic to lighten my body and increase my speed, the distance from Elin wasn’t widening well.
Whatever blessing she had received, Elin’s running speed wasn’t significantly slower.
Fortunately, we were a bit faster.
So we were gradually gaining distance and could have safely escaped.
However,
‘Can she change the shape of the Divine Field?!’
The Divine Field, which had seemed to be spreading in a circular shape, had somehow transformed into an elongated shape in one direction and was chasing us.
It was like a venomous snake crawling and chasing us in a winding manner.
‘Damn it…’
At this rate, we would be sucked into the Divine Field in a little while.
Then, it would be no different from losing our lives.
“Why, why are you running away from Lady Elin?!”
Elena shouted as if perplexed while running with me for now.
It was amazing that she could go along with it even in this sudden situation.
‘As expected of a saintess.’
I thought admiringly while looking at Elena and shouted as if making an excuse.
“I wanted to exercise! No, no. We’re playing tag with Elin!”
Elena widened her eyes in even more confusion.
“Why are you doing that with me?! And why is Lady Elin going along with it?!”
Yeah. I wanted to tell her the reason.
That Yuan’s Divine Field was chasing right behind us.
However, thinking about what would happen after telling her, I couldn’t rashly open my mouth.
Elin was the saintess of the evil god Yuan.
Elena was a saintess candidate who believed in Nephthys, the chief god, and a good god.
I was cautious because I didn’t know how Elena would react if she discovered Elin’s true identity.
At that moment.
*Ding!*
A system notification popped up.
I was already panting, and now even the system window appeared, further proving my frailty.
“Hah… hah…”
On the other hand, Elena wasn’t even out of breath yet.
It would be an embarrassing death if I collapsed from running like this.
“Elena. I’ll carry you.”
“What? Eek!”
I pulled Elena into a princess carry and used magic to open the castle window.
Then I jumped out the window, kicking it.
The chilly wind of dawn swept through my hair and clothes.
Elena’s long silver hair fluttered in the wind, swaying like silver waves.
Beyond that, I could see Elena’s face flushed bright red.
“The sky! It’s, it’s high! I’m falling!”
Elena flailed her arms and legs, clutching my clothes in a panic.
It seemed she got scared when we rose into the sky.
Her complexion had turned pale, and she was trembling all over.
“Calm down.”
I held Elena tightly so as not to drop her as she struggled and spoke.
I brought my face close to Elena’s to reassure her and whispered softly as if to soothe her.
“It’s okay.”
Perhaps my words got through to her as Elena, who had been moving her body wildly, slowly calmed down.
I firmly grasped Elena’s hand, which had been gasping, and placed it on my shoulder.
I could sense Elena heating up at a distance where we could feel each other’s breath.
“Hold onto here. You can wrap your arms around my neck too.”
“Y-yes… I’ll do that.”
Elena nodded obediently as if enchanted, blankly staring at my face.
Elena’s arms tightly embraced my neck.
I held Elena even more securely so that she could feel at ease.
“But you know. This event is too sudden. W-we just met for the first time… and I’m a paladin candidate. I understand how you feel, but we need to take it slow, step by step!”
Elena spoke sincerely.
Hmm, that’s the right thing to say. That’s correct.
But what was she thinking?
It was a fatal misunderstanding.
“That’s not what I…”
The wind blew again, and my and Elena’s hair fluttered simultaneously.
And I noticed Elin poking her head out of the window I had opened earlier, looking up at us.
A chill ran down my spine.
Elin’s silver eyes, bathed in moonlight, were stained with distorted madness.
With murderous intent, hatred, and resentment.
“Lady Elin…? Why does she have such eyes…?”
Following my gaze downward, Elena’s voice held a question as she discovered Elin.
Anyone could tell that Elin’s demeanor was strange if they looked calmly.
I gained more altitude and distanced myself further.
“It’s getting, getting higher!”
“Just endure it for a bit. You’re not a coward, are you? You’re going to become Nephthys’ paladin. Or are you too scared to handle it?”
At my provocation, Elena glared at me slightly and then nodded.
“Is this a test of courage? I can endure this much.”
I smiled and increased the altitude.
As long as Elin couldn’t fly, the Divine Field shouldn’t reach this high.
However, that was too naive a thought.
“…I hate you…”
Elin uttered words that seemed to be directed at someone unknown.
Perhaps sensing that hatred, Elena held her breath and hugged me even tighter.
Elin made the worst choice.
She returned the Divine Field that had been chasing us to a circular shape and began doing something she shouldn’t have done, following the command of hatred and madness.
“If you don’t come down, I’ll engulf this castle.”
Along with Elin’s words, the Divine Field slowly began to spread, discoloring the castle’s walls as it climbed.
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Lmao