Don’t Be Holy! - Chapter 127

At first it made no sense, but upon reflection, she realized—her body had been filled with darkness.

‘So that’s why I couldn’t use divine power.’

Come to think of it, when first cursed at the grandmother’s grave, hadn’t she been engulfed in that black mist? The darkness must have saturated her body completely, leaving no room for divine energy.

Eir examined her palm again. Disgusting as it was, she’d have to repeat this process until enough darkness was purged.

Only then could she escape once they reached the Central Temple.

She took a deep breath. Pain flared throughout her body—perhaps her divine power clashing with the darkness within.

With so little time alone, how could she possibly finish this?

No wonder Chrome told me to only use divine power when he’s present. As a witch who wielded darkness, he could have purged it all at once, painlessly.

The regret came too late.

Eir raised her hands once more and recited the sacred verses. Something surged up her throat again, and this time she squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to look.

She remained crouched like that for a long moment—until suddenly, BANG BANG!—violent pounding shook the door.

Flustered, she hurriedly tidied the bathroom and stumbled to her feet. Dizzy, she swayed to the door and cautiously opened it—only to find Rubel’s terrifying face staring back at her.

He leaned at an angle, scrutinizing her, then shoved past without hesitation.

Eir pinched her cheeks to force color into her pallid face. After assigning a doctor specifically to monitor her condition, Rubel wouldn’t overlook any irregularities.

“What? Why are you alone?”

“It’s our last night, so I told her to go have a drink. It’s not like I was going anywhere anyway.”

“You weren’t going anywhere?”

He began rifling through the room with alarming intensity before suddenly whirling around—his terrifying expression snapping her to full alertness.

“The stench of darkness is overwhelming. What were you plotting? Was your cute act in the hallway just to distract me?”

He started overturning bedding and boxes in a frenzy.

“W-what are you looking for?!”

“Your ‘friend.’ Given how freely they shapeshift, who knows where they’re hiding.”

He suddenly crushed a passing ant with his arm—when killing a shapeshifted witch, they revert to original form upon death. Seeing no transformation, he muttered irritably.

“Must not be one. I definitely warded against witch entry…”

His obsessive search continued.

Eir had a sinking feeling he wouldn’t leave until exterminating every insect in the room.

Telling him “You must be mistaken” would never work. Thinking fast, she blurted:

“It’s me.”

“You?”

Fear of divine punishment kept her from clearly saying Yes, I’m a witch too like before. Instead, she nodded repeatedly.

Though rib-crushing pain spiked through her, Eir forced a smile.

“You’re claiming you controlled this darkness?”

Rubel’s skeptical eyebrow arched. Eir shrugged as if it were obvious.

“You sensing darkness because of me makes sense.”

“What spell were you attempting?”

“Well…….”

As she scrambled for a plausible lie, Rubel’s patience snapped.

“Were you trying to escape again?”

“Ah—”

When Eir averted her eyes with a stupid sigh, Rubel closed the distance in three strides.

Grabbing both her arms, he stared down intently. In the dim room, his expressionless face looked eerily terrifying—his seething emotions almost palpable. Yet this vanished instantly, his decades of emotional control allowing swift recovery.

With a quiet sigh, he asked.

“What exactly is the problem? Why do you keep trying to run?”