Chapter 77 – Betrayal

Betrayal

She had a dream. It was a nightmare of returning to the time when she was most miserable, to the time when she was helpless.

A poor farming village in the mountains. Her hometown was a desolate land where people starved to death every year. Adel blinked her eyes open. Then she shook her head and clutched her head.

‘Where on earth is this… I was clearly fighting against a demon.’

At that moment, a voice was heard.

“Adel. What are you doing? Aren’t you coming out to help?”

“Yes. I’m coming out.”

Adel was startled. Because her body and lips moved on their own. This bizarre behavior continued. Moving her small hands, she tidied the blanket she had been covered with, and brushed off the straw stuck to the hem of her skirt. Then she picked up a farming tool lying around inside the house and suddenly went outside.

The hot sun shone down on the girl. She frowned for a moment and then turned her gaze. A vegetable garden filled with gravel and sand. On the dry, cracked land, several people could be seen busily working. One of them shouted. It was a dark-skinned peasant with a long beard.

“Adel! What were you dawdling for, only showing up now!”

“Honey! Stop it! Yesterday’s work was very hard! Adel is still young!”

Wearing clothes covered in stains and a wrapping cloth on her head, a woman waved her hands to stop him.

It was a voice dripping with desperate sorrow, but it was useless against the middle-aged man.

“This wench…!”

The middle-aged man who was tilling the garden threw the plow aside. Soon, he slapped the cheek of the woman who had tried to stop him.

“You shut up! Adel! You idiot! Come and work, now!”

“Yes, yes! Father! I’m going now…! Please don’t hit me!”

In front of the head of the household who used violence as a means of communication and shouted, the girl could do nothing. She merely prayed that his hand would not reach her, and that she would not be beaten today. Adel, attached to the girl’s body, was seeing and feeling all of this. A helpless country girl and a violent head of the household. It was a fragment of the terrible past she wanted to forget.

‘My appearance when I was young…’

Thanks to that, she could understand the situation at once. She was currently in a state of hallucination. It was a horrific illusion where everything was felt vividly. And there was only one person capable of doing such a thing. That horned female demon who had been fighting her just a moment ago!

‘This fucking bitch! How dare she do this to me! No, more importantly, I must escape here quickly and help Sir Veloc!’

Adel gritted her teeth and tried to release the Goddess’s power from within her, the holy power of the Sun Goddess. It was because of the thought that the celestial power, which was opposite to demons, could break this false world. For a moment, a hot sensation was felt inside her body. At the same time, the world faded to a blur as if shadow was poured over it, and then returned to normal.

Adel gasped. Whether it was her sense as a Paladin or her instinct as a warrior, she could know instinctively. She lacked power. Her ability was too weak to shatter the demon’s spell that created this space.

‘What on earth… should I do… No, I must not give up! I cannot dawdle here!’

The Paladin who had become a twelve-year-old girl struggled in the illusion like that. Even in the midst of it, the endless labyrinth corroded her mind. Whether Adel wanted it or not, the wretched past continued to unfold.

A house filled with thick smoke all year round, a dirty floor, and insects wriggling on earthenware were highly common sights. The girl was unfazed. Because she was used to it. But…

“You wench! Where’s the alcohol? Can’t you bring it quickly!”

“I-I’m sorry! I’ll buy it right now!”

“Move quickly! Because you are like that, Adel is also in that state!”

“Yes, yes.”

Sitting on a creaking chair, the father who only ordered others around and the mother who was helplessly beaten instead of resisting were unbearable to watch.

It wasn’t because she pitied her mother. Adel was not that kind of a good child. However… she was dreading that when she grew up, as a peasant’s daughter, she too might end up like that. Because she hated the thought of living miserably like her mother. However, even such a thing did not happen to her.

Because even the small amount of household assets earned by tilling the fields soon went entirely into the drunkard father’s mouth.

Had the strong liquor that drenched his beard melted even his brain? The father’s violence and verbal abuse grew worse day by day. In the end, he went as far as selling his only daughter to a slave trader.

“My lord. So, how much can you give me for her?”

In front of the merchant whose eyes were slit and belly protruded plumply, the father rubbed his hands. It was a servile attitude on a completely different level from when he dealt with his family.

“Well. She looks too shabby. She’s not even fit to be a maid, let alone a barmaid.”

The merchant narrowed his eyes and looked at the dusty girl. Then, sticking out his tongue, he licked his lips.

“Oh, why say such a thing… It’s just because of her current state. If you wash her, she will be presentable. She resembles her mother, so her beauty is outstanding.”

“Hmm? Really? I hope you can take responsibility for those words. Here it is. Is it enough?”

The merchant tossed a money pouch. Receiving it with both hands, the peasant slightly opened the pouch, and then bowed deeply.

“Thank you! Thank you, my lord!”

The mother who kept her mouth tightly shut even though her only flesh and blood was sold off because she feared her husband. The father who sold her just to buy a few months’ worth of alcohol. The girl was accepting her entire fate with dull, sunken eyes.

Resignation, helplessness, pain, frustration. All kinds of gloomy emotions struck Adel, who was inside the girl’s mind. Adel thought. It was around this time. Sir Veloc appeared here. And he saved her. She waited with expectation. However…

“Load the cargo, boys. Don’t forget to handle it with care.”

The girl was thrown into a wooden cage like a piece of luggage. When the girl hugged her knees and hung her head low, Adel was flustered. ‘What is this… My past wasn’t like this? I was definitely saved before being sold as a slave. And I became the squire of a glorious knight…?’ At that moment, a sweet voice reached her ears.

“Adel. You poor woman who covers her eyes and closes her ears. Shall I tell you the truth?”

A voice dripping with poison struck Adel’s heart.

“You are sold off just like this and become a street whore. You devote your body and mind to angry, drunk customers. Shall I explain in more detail? You receive their things with your tender body, receiving it again and again until you are broken. Just like a toy. In the end… not even your lower body remains intact.”

Adel growled.

‘Stop talking bullshit. I am the apostle of the sun’s light shining upright under the sky, and Sir Veloc’s sword and shield. How dare you try to deceive me with that filthy mouth!’

The voice grew louder. This time, it was ridicule.

“A mere beggar farmer’s daughter becoming a Paladin serving a god? Do you think that is possible?”

“Only the first time was hard. Later on, you started to enjoy it too. You will soon see yourself, with completely unfocused eyes, seeking only pleasure…”

“I saw how many men you took at once. It was truly amazing. You were highly skilled, weren’t you?”

The filthy whispers continued for a long time afterward. Every single one was enough to cause cracks in Adel’s firm heart. Adel resisted with an even weaker voice.

‘Filthy schemer… Why don’t you break this illusion right now?’

“Well. At this point, aren’t you feeling it too? Is this really an illusion?”

At that moment, the world changed. On a creaking, old bed, a woman with long black hair was sitting. A worn candlestick placed on the table illuminated her appearance without filtering. Beneath a cheap dress cut low in the front and back, she wore a scrap of cloth that was doubtful to even be underwear.

As she fixed her heavy makeup, using a stained mirror as her companion, the door creaked open. Soon, a man with a heavily flushed face entered. Putting a smile on her lips, the woman rose from her seat. Then she began to undress the drunkard with practiced hands. Licking her lips with her red tongue, she spoke.

“Why did it take you so long to come? I… waited for a long time.”

“Sorry, sorry. Work finished too late. But Adel, I came all the way here just to embrace you. Give me a break.”

“Is it okay to play with a woman’s heart like this?”

The woman lightly tapped the man’s chest, acting coquettishly. The man smirked.

“A woman? A whore like you… Just hurry up and strip me.”

“Of course. I’ll serve you hard as much as I was paid.”

Adel, who had suddenly become a voluptuous woman, could feel all these circumstances happening around her. From the touch of the man unbuttoning his front, to the smell of alcohol coming from his mouth, his protruding belly, and the creaking bed. ‘This… is really me?’ Her soul shook violently. Just then, a fishy voice was heard once again.

“How is it? It’s your future appearance. You have become a highly mature whore. And now… Aaaaargh!”

Adel was startled. A crackling sound of lightning rumbled, and the voice was abruptly cut off.

‘What on earth…’

The moment she was flustered, the old door of the inn slammed open. The heads of the two on the bed snapped around. A knight clad in black armor engraved with a bizarre crest stood firmly at the doorway. The man was flustered but gathered his removed clothes. Then, he pointed a finger at the knight.

“Who on earth are you… Urgh!”

The knight chose actions over words. Walking with his booted feet, he suddenly swung his sword. A fierce wind pressure arose, and the man was split in half, spraying blood and brain matter. At that moment, a shriek echoed.

Splattered with blood and flesh on the crimson-stained bed sheet, the naked woman clattered her teeth. The knight in black armor looked at her with a slightly troubled gaze and then opened his mouth.

“Your makeup is a bit thick. Your hair also seems a bit long… Well, it all suits you, though…”

Adel, inside the woman’s mind, tried to open her mouth. However, the black knight’s sword swung faster. The greatsword split the worn-out inn floor open. Soon, moving without rest, it began to smash all the surrounding sights.

The flickering candlestick was bent aside, and the bed shattered. The mirror covered in stains was also smashed to pieces. While the woman covered her ears and screamed, the black knight raised his sword. With a flash of lightning, a destructive light turned everything around into ashes.

Within the intensely blooming flash, in a world where everything had turned white, he spoke.

“Adel. It is time to wake up from the nightmare. Take care of our companions.”

Adel felt her heart swell. And she also felt the damp, dark spells binding her falling away. Leaving behind the light and noise that remained only as faint afterimages, the Paladin opened her eyes.

“Ugh…”

She felt her head throbbing and looked around. Beyond the messy hall, three men and women were lying. Cara and Isabel were groaning with their faces heavily contorted, and Veloc was sleeping with a peaceful face. On the greatsword lying beside him, the corpse of a mummified woman was pierced through.

She understood the situation immediately. While they were asleep under the demon’s spell, Veloc had slain two monsters all by himself. Adel looked at Veloc with worried eyes and shook her head.

‘I am still far too weak.’

In the aftermath of the consecutive battles, her body was heavy as if laden with lead. Her mind and soul, which had taken the archdemon’s spell head-on, were also exhausted. However, she gritted her teeth and stood up. Then, she picked up her sword dropped on the floor and headed toward her companions.

It was to execute the order Veloc had given in the illusion. As she approached, Cara and Isabel knit their brows. Soon, they woke up with screams.

“Phew, phew. Where on earth is this…”

“I went through highly terrible experiences. Was all of that… a dream?”

“Is everyone alright?”

The gazes of the two directed toward Adel. Just as they were about to say something, footsteps and the shouts of soldiers yelling ‘Waaaaah’ were heard. After a moment, the door of the hall slammed open. Soon, Duke Georg, covered in blood with an even more haggard complexion, and his knights revealed themselves.

Inside the messy hall, the old noble’s gaze turned like a snake. He scanned Veloc lying on the floor, his heavily exhausted companions, and finally the remains of the dead demons in turn. He smirked.

“To think things could go so smoothly.”