When I first encountered the saintess, the strange aura I felt from her was not my imagination. Just to be sure, I brought her into my own domain, which I had realized since becoming a god, and the strange aura that enveloped her body disappeared.

'...It seems that the aura is causing her to lose her senses.'

Could it be that this strange aura has such a negative effect on her?

A being like the saintess must have tried to heal herself, so naturally, it seems the conclusion is that even her abilities couldn’t resolve the issue.

This raises the question.

Why can't the saintess resolve her aura by herself?

I couldn't find the cause.

More precisely, there was no way to find it.

If I kept her by my side longer and analyzed the strange aura, I might figure it out... but she was the saintess.

And not just any saintess, but the saintess of the Holy Empire.

While I could battle other gods, it would be troublesome if it led to political conflict between nations.

'If I take the saintess, the Holy Empire might wage war against the Trellynian Kingdom.'

After all, the Trellynian Kingdom served Jörmungandr, myself.

Naturally, if I took the saintess away, the blame would surely fall on the Trellynian Kingdom.

Therefore, it was impossible to completely decipher the strange aura.

And that was further confirmed when I met the saintess in person.

'She is strong.'

Overwhelming.

For the first time since coming to this world, I felt a sense of intimidation.

The owner of that strange divine aura was strong to that degree.

'A goddess, or perhaps a demon god.'

The first gods.

The creator gods who created this world.

And the ones most likely to have brought me here.

That was why I couldn’t carelessly interfere with the aura. The aura contained an unusual dignity, and if I recklessly touched it, who knows what side effects it might have on the saintess.

'She is safe within my domain...'

But I can’t guarantee her safety once she leaves.

Furthermore...

'There are quite a few searching for this saintess.'

Confused shouts echoed from the cave.

Men in medieval, ornate silver armor were searching for the saintess who had disappeared.

However...

"Can't you stay with me? Please..."

[…….]

I looked at the saintess clinging tightly to me.

She was rubbing and stroking her body against mine as if trying to feel the texture of Jörmungandr.

Her eyes were full of tears.

Even as she tried so hard, she knew it too.

That I couldn’t keep her with me.

Two gods could not be served at the same time.

Different divinities have a nature that rejects each other.

Moreover, there are complicated interests intertwined among the gods, and some gods cannot tolerate their believers worshiping other gods.

If it were another weak god, it might be different.

But the Holy Empire, which established an empire with faith in one god, and especially the saintess there...

Political considerations had to be taken into account.

"Please... I don’t want to feel nothing anymore..."

My scales were getting wet.

The cave echoed with the cries of a young girl.

'Annoying.'

Doing nothing and remaining helpless like this doesn’t suit me.

Especially because she is just a young girl.

A girl who lost her senses and lived in pain for more than ten years.

I could see it clearly.

The terrible scars covering her body.

If others saw them, they would frown in disgust, but to me, it seemed like a young girl struggling and crying for help in pain.

So I was angry.

'What is the goddess doing?'

She was her believer.

And not just any believer, but a saintess, the 'proxy of the god' she personally chose.

Did she leave such a saintess unattended like this?

Since she was very young?

I didn’t understand.

Sure, I don’t know what she is doing.

She might be extremely busy.

Maybe she is saving countless creatures in places I can’t perceive.

But.

[If one cannot protect what is in their arms, they don’t deserve to have it.]

"Pardon?"

The saintess, who was snuggling in my embrace, tilted her head in confusion.

Watching her, I made a decision.

I didn’t know what the goddess was doing, but I had no intention of ignoring someone who needed help.

I was curious too.

What exactly was this strange aura?

I had never encountered an aura as tyrannical, overwhelming, and strong as this.

I felt a competitive spirit.

What would happen if I fought against this aura?

Since coming to this world.

It’s been nothing but boring days.

Everyone was weak.

Even the warriors who were said to be strong were weak compared to me, as were the demon lords and other divine beasts like the Azure Dragon.

None of them could defeat me.

But.

'This is the first time.'

Aura.

It had been a long time since I was overwhelmed by just the remnants of an aura.

Excluding someone from a very long time ago, it had been a while.

I felt a competitive spirit.

So there was no need to hesitate.

[I will heal you.]

Your senses.

Jörmungandr lunged towards the dark aura that was the source of everything.

—Wooong.

The moment Jörmungandr’s enormous body disappeared somewhere.

"...Oh?"

The saintess stared blankly at the empty space where Jörmungandr had vanished in an instant.

"He’s gone."

The cardinal of the Holy Empire Ieros, Alba Ketros, murmured as he looked at the spot where the saintess had disappeared.

The saintess had vanished.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, he remained calm.

Or rather, was it right to say he was calm?

With no change in expression, he had an eerie aura as if something had been severed from him.

"Has the priestess disappeared as well...?"

He turned his head to look for the priestess in search of Jörmungandr, but all he found was an empty space.

"It’s Jörmungandr’s doing."

The cardinal reached a reasonable conclusion.

The saintess had disappeared, and the priestess had disappeared.

And in this cave, the only one capable of such an act was Jörmungandr.

"Find them."

"Yes."

At his emotionless words, all the holy knights scattered and searched the cave thoroughly.

Alba Ketros followed them leisurely, contemplating what kind of 'education' he should give the saintess once she was found.

"It’s troubling. To disappear without our permission..."

Of course, this was entirely Jörmungandr’s fault.

The moment they entered the cave, Jörmungandr had transferred the saintess, so there was no blame on her for disappearing.

From the start, she had no intention of disappearing.

But to the cardinal, that wasn’t important.

It wasn’t the 'cause' of her disappearance that mattered.

He valued the 'rules' for guiding the saintess correctly. Whatever her thoughts or how she got involved with others didn’t concern him.

Only the 'result' of her disappearance mattered.

That was the backside of the Holy Empire, Ieros.

A place like a machine that solved everything based on scriptures written long ago by someone. No longer did the inner sanctum of the Holy Nation contain people with human hearts. Only blind adherence to the goddess remained.

Whether the goddess desired it or not.

Such matters were no longer important to them.

Whatever the method.

They thought it was for the goddess.

Cardinal Alba Ketros.

Only the 'scripture' that allowed the current Holy Nation to exist mattered to him.

However.

"We couldn’t find her."

"......"

A holy knight returned.

And informed him of this.

His deeply bowed head was pleading for mercy. The cardinal looked down at him and recited the rules quietly.

"Rule, Article 2, Paragraph 1. Finding the saintess is more important than your life."

Slash!

The holy knight’s head was severed in an instant.

His head, still unaware of being severed, rolled peacefully and bumped against the cardinal’s foot. The cardinal looked at the eyes with disinterest and kicked the head.

Bang!

Turning his back on the exploded head.

The cardinal’s cold gaze turned toward the cave.

"Saintess... where have you gone?"

If she disappeared.

"If she continues to break the 'rules'... her delicate mind won’t be able to endure it."

The cardinal’s eyes glinted coldly.

He slowly walked into the cave.

The deeper he went.

He saw the holy knights moving busily.

They resembled ants.

Ants silently performing their tasks according to a set protocol.

"Did you find her?"

"Not yet."

Bang!

But it was different.

They seemed devoid of emotions.

Even as their comrade's head exploded beside them, and the splattered blood burned hot on their faces, they continued searching for the saintess without any change in expression.

Their chilling lack of expression.

Was eerily monstrous, like beasts wearing human skin.