I Can Hear the Saint’s Inner Thoughts

49 – The Wizard in the Sleeping Cinema(4)

“Wouldn’t your thoughts change if you actually had to see your parents die again?”

“You piece of shit…”

“Good. That’s the kind of look I wanted to see. Ah… the scorn and insults from the one I love are so exciting!”

Bellamora snapped her fingers, her face melting with lust. She was even chuckling, as if my scornful glare was something she found lovable.

“…That’s not love. It’s definitely not pure love either.”

Victoria bit her lip while looking at me, her voice trailing off, as if something Bellamora said had pricked at her.

– I did scold Astar a lot too, but that was just a way to hide how much I liked you… I never wanted to hurt you or make you suffer…

Victoria’s inner voice sounded worried she might have done the same thing as Bellamora. Her trembling and frightened tone was clearly directed at me.

“Who cares? You’re still my friend. That demon b*tch just crossed the line.”

I placed my hand on my chest, clenching it tightly and twisting, forcing my mana core into overload, as I spoke.

Hot blood was gushing from my eyes, nose, and mouth, making even the simple act of breathing agony.

“I don’t think you’re bad. Just… a little mischievous and annoying, I guess.”

I was talking, trying my best to sound nonchalant, to reassure Victoria.

Victoria and I had spent a year together, forming a deep bond and connection. Something just short of lovers but more than friends – we’d even seen each other naked for medical treatments.

Of course, there were times when I was upset by her criticism and slander, but I could understand it, given her terminal illness and the contradictory nature she displayed.

Humans, when faced with death, they want to live even if it means being ugly.

I initially joined the demon lord subjugation to find a place to die, but then I met Victoria, and I somehow started wanting to live a little longer.

“Oh, you know that won’t do me any real damage, right?”

Bellamora was sneering, stroking the wound on her cheek while looking at the core sword I had drawn. She was my equal, a sage-level mage.

“Victoria, can you place your hand on the core sword?”

“It’s incredibly hot, and pulsating like something alive. To have a holy maiden touch something so wicked, you really do have a depraved taste…”

“Stop talking dirty about my mana core.”

“Just kidding. I just wanted to say that once. Wouldn’t you rather die of embarrassment than get killed?”

– I’m sure Astal’s “thing” he pulled out on me is just as wonderful and magnificent… I kind of glanced at it during treatment before, but I never knew it would get bigger and harder…

Even while facing Bellamora, Victoria didn’t hold back with her jokes towards me.

Hearing her inner thoughts, the sight of her kneeling in reverence, caressing my core sword looked strangely erotic.

“…So, just like last time, should I infuse it with holy magic and power?”

“Right, because the demonic energy of the demons and the divine power of a holy maiden are like poison, completely repelling each other.”

I nodded, avoiding eye contact with Victoria. This must be why the hero Kyle had us travel together.

Bellamora, a succubus, and Victoria, a holy maiden, were polar opposites; their mere existence grated on each other.

One is a lustful and promiscuous demon who delves into men’s memories to steal their vitality.

The other is a devout servant of god, who loses her divine power and becomes an ordinary person once she loses her virginity to a man.

“I’ll breathe my hot breath into your sword and offer a prayer.”

“……”

“Please don’t die, if you do, I’ll spread the word across the continent that you were a perverted mage who harassed me.”

– I wish Astal wouldn’t push himself and overuse his magic… but I know he’d hate it even more if I used a miracle…

Right now, we were acting and dressed so much alike that it was hard to tell who the succubus was and who the holy maiden was.

“That’s all pointless. What’s the point of getting ready to die and pulling your heart out when this is just a dream?”

Bellamora shrugged, narrowing her eyes while observing the scene. No matter how much divine power was infused into a fake holy sword, this was her illusionary dream.

No matter how much we swing the sword or attempt to deal her a fatal blow, it would be futile.

But,

“It’ll buy us some time, at least.”

I wasn’t fighting Bellamora alone right now. I wiped the blood from my mouth with my other hand, burning with renewed fighting spirit.

Because Victoria, who had even followed me into the Phantasm, was here for me, and the rest of our companions were surely out there, scouting the territory for enemy weaknesses.

Kyle wouldn’t have made the decision to send Victoria and me off alone without some plan or backup. He was definitely still out there, trying to find a way to save this entire territory.

‘If it’s the Kyle Dragonica I know, he’d definitely do that.’

I chuckled, picturing the red-haired warrior’s face.

He was the guy who’d overworked himself guarding the dimensional gate alone last time, and then just said it was nothing later, repeatedly telling me to go grab a meal.

“Well, fine then. If you insist on choosing the path of suffering… I won’t stop you.”

Before Bellamora could snap her fingers, I took my Core Sword and pushed off the ground, charging at her.

Each time I stepped into the pools of blood from those I knew, the squishy sensation and the sloshing sound felt like they were grabbing at my ankles.

– *Hyung*, why didn’t you save me…?

– *Astal oppa*… I wanted to be a mage like you…

I caught glimpses of my friends’ limbs and heads rolling around in my vision, and with each one, voices blaming me and a suffocating feeling came over me like a hallucination.

Just as those pangs of guilt rippled through my mind.

“I’ll cooperate, Astal-nim.”

A soft, warm voice whispered next to me.

Victoria’s movements, as she charged to shatter Bellamora’s skull with a pure-white hammer, broke the ground and made the earth vibrate, but,

“Yeah, that’s more like you.”

Looking at Victoria actually put my mind at ease. Being beside this woman felt like it could even make those sad pasts seem insignificant.

A warm spot grew in my chest, and even the sad things and painful pasts seemed to float away, easing my worry. I gave a small upturn of my lips as I watched Victoria.

“Accel, Strength.”

I quickly layered two magic circles onto the Core Sword, creating a rotating, three-dimensional magic circle within it and activating it.

I could have made it rain to infuse the sword with various magic, but what I needed now was pure brute strength and speed.

*Kwaang—! Kang!*

The large hammer and the sword traced a clear arc towards Bellamora’s neck, and the moment they were both about to strike and end her life.

“I told you, it’s pointless. Well, I did get a little bit of a burn, though…”

Bellamora was using just her thumbs and index fingers from both hands to block my Core Sword and Victoria’s hammer.

*Chiik—!*

The sound and smell of burning flesh filled the air. Bellamora casually brushed off her badly burnt hands with a small smile, acting like nothing had happened.

“…It’s all my dream here. I can do whatever I want. Don’t you believe that everyone’s invincible and immortal in their dreams?”

*Snap!*

As Bellamora snapped her fingers, the surrounding scenery shifted drastically, and a memory I knew all too well unfolded before my eyes.

– Astal, you have to survive, no matter what.

My father, Claude Kaisa, was putting me on a horse, his teeth clenched to hold back tears, his expression serene even as death loomed before him.

– Astal… I’m sorry I couldn’t properly celebrate your 10th birthday.

My mother, Celine Kaisa, was casting various protective spells on the horse and me, ensuring our safe escape from the village, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.

With a body that had never properly wielded a weapon, I watched my parents tremble, clutching farm tools, trying to fight against the demons.

‘No, not like this… My parents will be killed by the Dullahan if this continues…’

I thrashed about, trying to move my unresponsive body, desperately trying to stop my parents from fighting.

– Even if you’re left alone, never forget that we’ll always be by your side.

– You won’t lay a finger on my son! You dirty lackeys of the Demon King!

Like the end of a predetermined novel, my parents shouted the words I knew so well as they charged towards the Dullahan – a sight so agonizing I couldn’t bear to watch.

But then, at that moment.

“…I’ll try to change even a little bit of your past. Even if all of this is Bellamora’s illusion.”

A platinum-blonde woman hammered away at the Dullahan’s grasp. She winked at my parents, closing one eye. Her name was…

“Isn’t that what a girlfriend should do? I’ve always been taught to make a good impression on the in-laws to get their blessing.”

– I will take on all your painful past with you. Even if it’s fake, I’m Astal’s lover right now.

It was Victoria Eberhart, the saintess who could hear my inner thoughts.