Chapter 130 – The Outcome He Deserved
The villagers watched as Giles willingly handed the Sacred Scripture to Flamme.
The meaning of that act was obvious.
Yet even now, a few villagers stared stubbornly, unwilling to accept the truth.
Flamme quickly opened the scripture. As expected, she soon found a page stained with dried blood.
"Giles, if I'm not mistaken, the blood on this page belongs to its original owner."
"Tell me—what happened to that priest? Did you kill him yourself and steal this scripture?"
"No! That's not what happened!"
Giles threw his head back and shouted in protest.
"That priest died after being attacked by a monster! I was simply overcome by greed for a moment. I took the scripture he left behind and came to this forgotten village to impersonate a priest!"
"I didn't do anything else!"
Flamme looked at him with calm, penetrating eyes and refused to relent.
"You didn't do anything else… I see."
"Someone as ignorant as you probably couldn't imagine it, but within the sacred scripture there exists a miraculous spell that allows information to be hidden within blood."
"W-what?!"
The moment Giles heard that, his eyes began to tremble violently.
"Lady Flamme… you're joking, right? Something that absurd—"
"Teresa."
Before he could finish, Flamme turned toward the stunned girl behind her.
"Since Giles finds such magic unbelievable, you can interpret it yourself."
Teresa glanced at Giles—especially the mixture of hatred and threat in his eyes.
"Lady Flamme… I…"
"Don't be afraid."
Holding the scripture, Flamme extended it toward the hesitant girl without the slightest doubt.
"With me here, no one will be falsely accused."
"Whether it's Giles, who pretended to be a priest while having no faith in the Goddess, or you, whose extraordinary talent was deceived and misled…"
"Everyone will receive the outcome they deserve."
Looking into Flamme's warm yet resolute eyes, Teresa smiled for the first time.
She nodded and accepted the sacred scripture.
Then, before everyone's eyes, she gently touched the dried blood on its pages.
In the next moment, the blood lifted from the paper, swirling into the air.
It twisted and gathered together, forming bright red words in midair.
"The monster's wounds were not fatal.
In my final moments, it was the greedy man who stole the scripture
who raised a stone and struck my head."
"What?!"
The villagers gasped in shock.
They had never imagined that the man they worshiped as their savior—Giles—was nothing more than a fraud posing as a priest.
And worse still, his crime was even more horrifying than deception.
He had delivered the final blow to the dying priest.
Among them all, Teresa was the most devastated.
Her clenched teeth and burning eyes made it look as if she wanted to tear Giles apart.
"How tragic…"
"The priest I admired, respected, and obeyed all this time…"
"…was nothing more than a murderer."
Without hesitation, Teresa summoned Three Spears of Light, aiming them directly at Giles's throat.
"—Wait, Teresa!"
Giles stretched out his hands helplessly, shaking his head like a madman.
"H-how dare you try to kill me?! You've received the Goddess's blessing! Would the Goddess really allow you to take a life?!"
Teresa's expression hardened, her voice firm as iron.
"Giles, look at me."
"Look at Lady Flamme. Look at the villagers standing here."
"Do you see even the slightest trace of pity on any of our faces?"
"Because crimes like yours…"
"…are something neither I, nor the villagers—nor even the Goddess herself—would ever forgive."
"Teresa!"
—CRACK!
The moment Giles collapsed to the ground, Teresa also faced the consequence that awaited her.
While the villagers spat on Giles's corpse in disgust, they surged toward Teresa.
"Teresa, we wronged you! We shouldn't have believed Giles's lies!"
"Yes… we're so sorry. We never imagined that you were the one blessed by the Goddess!"
"Sigh… it's all because that bastard deliberately suppressed you. All these years, we never even realized you had such talent!"
Teresa accepted the villagers' praise quietly before walking toward Flamme.
"Lady Flamme, this is for you."
Seeing the Sacred Scripture in Teresa's hands, Flamme frowned slightly, unable to understand her intention.
"Why?"
"The original owner of this scripture is dead, and so is the man who impersonated him," Teresa replied gently.
"The most suitable person to keep it now should be you, Lady Flamme."
Teresa smiled softly.
"Although Giles deceived me, one thing he said wasn't wrong."
"With my current abilities, I truly cannot shoulder the responsibility of possessing the scripture."
"The Three Spears of Light and even the interpretation of the blood message just now… I only managed them by trying to understand the scripture's meaning and imagining the magic myself."
"Is that so?"
Flamme suddenly smiled and reached out to gently pat Teresa's head.
"Being able to grasp the Goddess's magic without any guidance actually proves just how talented you are."
"Don't overthink it. This ownerless scripture is far safer in your hands than falling into the hands of someone wicked."
---
"Now then, we've already wasted quite a bit of time dealing with Giles. We need to set off as soon as possible."
Elias, who had watched the entire scene in silence, finally spoke as he climbed onto the carriage.
"Honestly, Flamme."
"Whether it's demons or humans, you really can't tolerate even the slightest trace of evil."
"But you should realize that villages like this will be everywhere along our journey. Are you planning to involve yourself in every problem you see?"
"Who knows?"
Flamme didn't meet Elias's gaze. Instead, she smiled faintly and looked elsewhere.
"Elias, isn't that what a journey is like? Perhaps even our decision to help Teresa was already part of that person's plan."
Elias was about to order his clone to drive the carriage away when he suddenly turned back.
"So… would what happens next also be within that person's expectations?"
Hearing this, Flamme turned around as well.
Following Elias's gaze, she saw a thin figure running toward them from the entrance of the village.
"Teresa? You—"
"Lady Flamme!"
Teresa ran up to them, panting heavily. What caught everyone's attention was the bundle strapped to her back.
"I… I want to travel with you!"
"I want to study the Goddess's magic recorded in the scripture while journeying with you!"
Flamme looked at the girl with a conflicted expression, clearly not expecting this.
"But Teresa, we're heading south. If you want to study Goddess magic, you should go north to the Holy City, Strahl."
"That's alright!"
Teresa smiled calmly.
"My hometown is actually in the south. I was hoping to look for some of my relatives there as well."
"And I brought enough money with me—I promise I won't be a burden to anyone!"