Volume 1, Chapter 40 – Heart-Piercing Bone-Gouging

Stella was dumbfounded.

‘What is going on here?’

She looked at Lainia kneeling in the mud, at her lowered eyes, and at the collar she had fastened back around her own neck.

‘Isn’t Lainia supposed to be afraid?’

‘Isn’t she supposed to question why I could use Holy Light?’

‘Isn’t she supposed to cry and beg me to let her go?’

‘Why had she picked the collar back up?’

‘Why had she put it on herself?’

Just a few minutes ago, Stella had only used Holy Light to save this troublesome girl. She had even prepared excuses in her head for how she would argue her way through the situation and persuade Lainia to keep her secret.

Yet not only had the other girl not run away, she had actually picked up her shackles of her own accord and even called Stella Master.

Was this some new kind of scam?

Or had the crisis just now frightened this trainee nun out of her wits?

Surely not. Were members of the clergy these days really that mentally fragile?

Stella parted her lips slightly, wanting to ask what was going on, or perhaps simply grab Lainia by the shoulders and shake her until she came to her senses.

“Roar—”

A long, low roar came from deeper within the Forbidden Forest, and the ground trembled faintly beneath their feet. Clearly, the disturbance Stella had caused earlier had attracted the attention of something.

She had no idea what it was, but judging from the sound alone, it was definitely not something she could handle in her current state.

There was no time to dwell on this inexplicable development.

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Stella grabbed the chain Lainia was offering her and gave it a hard tug.

“Move.”

Whether Lainia had truly gone crazy or was only pretending to be stupid, staying here meant certain death.

There was no time to explain. She would get Lainia out first, then find somewhere deserted afterward. Whether she knocked her unconscious and dumped her somewhere or bundled her up and sent her away, either option would work.

‘Lord, what in the world is with everything happening tonight?’

Lainia stumbled, but showed no intention of resisting. Instead, she obediently followed behind Stella, trudging through the rotting fallen leaves as they headed toward the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest.

Neither of them spoke along the way.

Only the occasional crisp clinking of the metal chain echoed through the woods.

Stella walked quickly, wanting nothing more than to leave this damned place as soon as possible.

Lainia, meanwhile, kept her head lowered the entire time, her amber eyes fixed on Stella’s shadow stretching long beneath the moonlight, her gaze dark and unreadable.

At last, an open clearing appeared beyond the sparse shadows of the trees.

Remedios was waiting beneath that dead tree.

Her eyes were closed as she leaned against the trunk, holding the diary she always carried in her hands. Her platinum-blonde hair stirred gently in the night breeze. Hearing their footsteps, her eyelashes quivered, and she slowly opened those aqua-blue eyes.

Her gaze passed over Stella and landed on Lainia behind her, covered in mud yet obediently wearing her collar.

The corners of Remedios’ lips curled upward in a smile of complete expectation.

“Happy hunting, Stella.”

Stella stopped and steadied her breathing.

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“…I’m finished.”

That was all she could say.

She certainly couldn’t tell Remedios that she had nearly ended up as worm food just now.

Remedios straightened up, brushed the bits of grass from her skirt, and walked over with light steps. She circled Lainia once, her gaze both critical and admiring.

“As expected of you, Stella.”

Remedios’s voice was filled with admiration.

“In such a short amount of time. When she went in, she was still prey who only knew how to run, with defiance filling her eyes. By the time she came out, she’d already become an apparently obedient slave.”

She reached out a finger and lightly fiddled with the metal clasp around Lainia’s neck.

“Look at those eyes. There’s still some unwillingness in them, but her body has already learned obedience.”

Remedios turned to Stella, her blue eyes filled with approval.

“Stella, I didn’t expect you to complete a hunting game in the danger-filled Forbidden Forest and still keep yourself this clean.”

“Truly impressive.”

What exquisite methods.

What terrifying power of domination.

Remedios looked at Stella, the worship in her eyes practically overflowing.

As an accomplice, her opinion of her partner had once again risen by an entire level.

Stella listened expressionlessly.

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She could no longer even be bothered to clear up this kind of misunderstanding.

Explaining would only sound like covering it up, and covering it up meant it had to be true. In any case, with Remedios, the more Stella tried to explain, the guiltier she looked.

‘Whatever.’

Remedios dusted off her skirt and pulled the book containing dark cursecraft from her clothes. Her tone became serious.

“Stella, I haven’t forgotten what we’re actually here to do tonight.”

Stella immediately grew uneasy.

What they were actually here to do?

She had thought the farce just now was already the last event of the night.

Remedios opened the book and pointed at the twisted skull symbol on the page.

“Tonight’s topic is Heart-Piercing Bone-Gouging. You might have found the theory boring before, but now that we have such perfect conditions, we might as well move straight into practical application.”

“Wait, Remedios, I think…”

“Don’t worry. I also think casting spells on a tree stump is far too boring. You could never grasp the essence of dark magic that way.”

Remedios cut her off.

“For your first practice session, it’s best to have a living target. Feedback from their pain will help you calibrate the intensity of your magical power output, and it’ll also let you directly experience the…”

Remedios paused, seemingly searching for the right word.

“…aesthetic beauty of the curse taking effect.”

She raised her head, her aqua-blue eyes meeting Stella’s before naturally shifting toward Lainia beside them.

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One slender finger pointed lightly.

“Let’s use her.”

Remedios smiled as she made the suggestion as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

“The prey has already been captured anyway, and she’s a member of the clergy who’s still a little defiant and hasn’t completely given up on trying to escape… A disobedient slave is the perfect practice target for a first casting.”

“Besides, you brought her out this late at night. I assume that aside from the hunting game, you were planning from the start to use her as our spellcasting target, weren’t you?”

The wind stopped.

Stella’s fingers tightened abruptly around the chain, her palm turning ice-cold.

A spellcasting target?

Have one Saintess use an unforgivable dark curse on another nun?

Behind her, Lainia’s body trembled slightly when she heard those words.

She slowly raised her head and looked through her disheveled hair at Stella’s back, a trace of understanding flashing through her amber eyes.

As expected.

This was why she had captured her and brought her back.

‘What an…’

‘Utterly evil succubus.’