Chapter 99……………………………………………
If it was that prince, it was entirely possible. He was a man who valued his own life dearly but treated others’ lives as trivial.
“Damn that guy.”
Elias swallowed his curse silently. The prince, Mammon, the Hasent faith followers… none of them sat well with him. He couldn’t even begin to estimate how many lives might be lost because of this incident.
“I hope we can save as many people as possible.”
With that thought, she continued walking and ended up rescuing a few more nobles who were followers of the Lilith faith. All the Lilith followers that Elias found offered prayers of gratitude to Lilith.
“Lady Lilith, thank you for sending the saint! Truly, we are grateful!”
Elias felt a warm pride at their prayers. While continuing the rescue of survivors in the labyrinth, Rosetta’s voice suddenly called out:
“Eli, someone’s fallen over there!”
She pointed to a man collapsed against the wall of the labyrinth. He was too far to identify at first, but Elias quickly ran to him.
Upon closer inspection, a familiar face with wounds in multiple places came into view. Elias’ eyes widened.
“My brother!”
It was Count Kadin, a devout follower of the Lilith faith and someone kind and gentlemanly toward Elias. She immediately sat by his side to check his condition.
Elias was anxious. Count Kadin felt to her like a grandfather figure. Seeing him unconscious made her uneasy.
Moreover, Kadin was in his mid-seventies, frail with age, which made her worry even more.
“This… Count Kadin…”
The nobles who had hurried after Elias looked at the two with concern. After briefly checking Count Kadin, Elias quickly relaxed her tense expression.
“Fortunately, he’s alright. He only fainted briefly; it doesn’t seem to be anything serious.”
She told the nobles, who let out sighs of relief.
“We should probably give him some treatment.”
“Yes, don’t worry, Saint. We can wait as long as necessary.”
The Lilith followers waited calmly. Meanwhile, Elias infused Count Kadin with her divine power. Soon, the wounds covering his body vanished, and he slowly lifted his eyelids.
“Feeling a bit better, brother?”
“Oh… impossible… even the saint…”
Count Kadin could not hide his distress when he saw Elias’ face upon regaining consciousness. Understanding his concern, Elias smiled faintly and said:
“You’re still alive.”
“Ah… that’s a relief. And to think I’d meet the saint herself.”
Count Kadin rose to his feet. Seeing the other nobles nearby, he sighed in relief.
“Oh… so the others are here too.”
Elias explained the current situation to Count Kadin, who then recounted what had happened to him.
After regaining consciousness in the labyrinth, Count Kadin met two knights. The three of them moved together, but suddenly, monsters appeared, killing the two knights.
Fortunately, the monsters were defeated by the knights’ attacks, but Count Kadin was injured in the process.
After finishing all conversations, Elias’ party continued moving through the labyrinth. When their group grew to about ten people, they suddenly spotted the emperor and princess.
“Your Majesty!”
“Princess!”
Unlike their appearances at the lavish banquet, they looked disheveled and weary. They had clearly been through a lot.
However, not all around the royal family were friendly faces. Two nobles, followers of the Hasent faith, stood beside them.
“Oh, Saint! So you’re safe after all.”
As Elias approached, Princess Selena smiled warmly, followed by the emperor.
“Are either of you hurt?”
“We’re fine. But you have quite a large group, Saint.”
The nobles answered the emperor, all praising Elias.
“Thanks to the saint, we survived.”
“Yes, she even healed our injuries.”
Elias felt slightly embarrassed by their praise but focused on checking the emperor and princess. Fortunately, neither of them was seriously hurt.
She treated minor injuries on them while Princess Selena recounted the story.
When the banquet hall floor collapsed, the emperor and princess held each other’s hands. By chance, they met and joined a group of knights. The knights were killed by monsters, but the princess’ exceptional swordsmanship helped them survive.
Eventually, they also joined up with nobles who followed the Hasent faith.
“I see. Then from now on, you’ll accompany us.”
Elias invited the emperor and princess to join her. Since they were now followers of the Lilith faith, it was imperative to safely guide them out of the labyrinth.
“Of course.”
The emperor agreed readily. At that moment, Count Haben Laxberium and Viscount Kaizak Horn, both followers of the Hasent faith, approached the emperor.
“Your Majesty, you will come with us.”
Elias was taken aback.
‘Who do they think they are, ignoring the emperor’s decision?’
Her gaze, warm when looking at the emperor and princess, turned icy. Narrowing her eyes, she said:
“This is for Your Majesty and Princess to decide.”
Unbothered, Laxberium spoke again:
“Yes. Before you arrived, Your Majesty and Princess had agreed to come with us. Isn’t that right, Your Majesty?”
The emperor replied:
“That was the case. But now I have changed my mind. Selena and I are followers of the Lilith faith, and we will go with the saint.”
Even so, Laxberium remained impassive. He continued to press the situation.
“Your Majesty, the current circumstances are extremely dangerous. You cannot entrust your troops to the Lilith faith under these conditions.”
He pressed on:
“You said you became followers of the Lilith faith, but you haven’t yet visited the temple, correct?”
“Yes… that is correct.”
Laxberium became more excited.
“The Lilith faith was rumored until recently to worship demons. You should be even more cautious. Who knows, perhaps we ended up here because of them. Just look at that saint’s calm expression.”
He pointed at Elias, whose expression gradually hardened.
‘I don’t care what he thinks of our Lilith faith…’
But to dare sow discord…
“Count Laxberium! What are you doing?! Are you trying to sow distrust between Your Majesty and the saint?!”
Unable to watch any longer, Count Kadin stepped forward. Laxberium only sneered.
“Sow distrust? I’m merely stating facts.”
“How dare you!”
Elias approached Count Kadin, smiling faintly.
“Calm down, brother. I’m fine.”
“But saint, they insulted us just now.”
“Given the circumstances, they are not thinking clearly and are acting emotionally. Let’s understand that with a generous heart.”
Kadin nodded slowly.
“If that’s the case… yes, perhaps you’re right.”
The two Hasent faith followers’ expressions twisted at being blatantly dismissed. Elias seized the moment.
“It doesn’t matter what two followers of the Hasent faith think of us. Time is critical; I have no intention of wasting it on pointless arguments.”
“What…?”
“You’re incredibly oblivious. People are dying here, and you waste time with trivial words. Am I wrong?”
“W-what! Trivial words?!”
Laxberium tried to speak further, but Elias ignored him and stepped in front of the emperor and princess.
“Your Majesty, Princess, we don’t have much time. We must save other survivors and escape this place. Decide whether you will follow me or go with them.”
She turned and began moving through the labyrinth again, followed by the party.
Only the two Hasent faith followers, the emperor, and the princess remained behind.
“Y-Your Majesty, please come with…”
Laxberium spoke, but the emperor and princess passed by without hesitation.
