Volume 3 Chapter 14 – Once Beloved, Now an Enemy

Gazing at the city now engulfed in flames, I found myself deep in thought. I understood now how the fire of this war had truly ignited.

It hadn’t been caused by an external enemy. It hadn’t been a peasant rebellion. It was the city’s own residents who had turned into monsters and, in turn, attacked the city’s guards. That was why the majority of the casualties were among the guards—most civilians had only died due to collateral damage.

Of course, some of the transformed monsters had attacked indiscriminately, killing both civilians and guards alike.

But what exactly caused these ordinary people to become monsters? The Corpseblossom... wasn’t the source. It was only a manifestation—a reflection of resentment.

Could pure hatred really turn people into monsters?

I thought something else was missing—some trigger. Watching the flames devour Kanz City, a familiar scene flickered through my mind, vague and ephemeral, then vanished like a stone sinking into the sea.

Agonized screams still echoed through the city. The monsters continued to hunt down the remaining guards.

These monsters clearly had their own consciousness and intelligence. They were systematically conquering the middle district and pushing their offensive into the inner city.

I could roughly guess their aim.

Debts must be repaid, and grudges avenged. These transformed citizens hadn’t lost all their memories—at the very least, they hadn’t forgotten their hatred. On the contrary, their emotions had fermented into something even more intense.

It seemed to me that once transformed, their negative emotions had been magnified dramatically. The hatred took over, and now they were driven by the singular urge to vent their long-suppressed fury. The bone-sucking guards were merely appetizers. Their true target was the city's lord.

They were launching an all-out assault on the one who had long treated them as livestock, tortured and exploited them. They wanted to tear him to pieces.

Looking at the devastated Kanz City, I realized it wasn’t much different from when I’d first arrived. The only differences were the fire, the deaths, and the collapsed buildings. Everything else remained unchanged.

To the civilians suffering in this hellhole, this city had always been a cage, a living purgatory. Once they shed the chains called “family” and “humanity,” the first thing they did was break that cage.

The sea of fire might look like damnation, but to those imprisoned, it symbolized freedom. They had never known such euphoria and wild joy.

Perhaps, deep in their hearts, they had always dreamed of a day like this. But held back by morality and their own weakness, they had never acted. The Corpseblossom gave them the opportunity.

A chance to overthrow their oppressors.

Now that I understood all this, I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do anymore.

It was just like Piece had once asked me: “Will you help the oppressors suppress the rebellion—or help the oppressed create more chaos?”

Whether these transformed citizens succeeded or failed, it was all part of nature’s order. To forcibly interfere would be to defy nature itself.

Whatever I chose, it would be meaningless.

As I stood lost in thought, I felt a gentle poke at my waist.

Looking down, I saw Yimi, her large expressionless eyes silently fixed on me.

“How long are you going to space out?”

Only then did I remember—I still needed to move the injured to safety.

Elsewhere, the siege had entered full swing. These cultists, after transforming into monsters, were immensely powerful—many times stronger than before. Kanz City had never been a longstanding city-state, with only a century of history. It had rarely seen war, and the inner city walls had been built with minimal effort. After the war with the Demon Race, the Empire’s finances had been stretched thin.

Because of that, the inner city’s defenses crumbled easily. The mutated attackers tore through the walls like paper, tearing open gaping breaches in just a few blows.

Despite not being organized, the mutated attackers coordinated with uncanny unity. Once the walls fell, they poured in one after another.

Morale among the guards on the battlements collapsed instantly.

Fortunately, the inner city still had mages and a few Divine Princesses stationed there.

That was when I noticed why only a few guards had been fighting earlier. The city’s lord, in his obsession with self-preservation, had relocated the bulk of the guards, mages, and Divine Princesses to the inner city.

As for the outer city’s ravaged commoners? They didn’t matter. How could livestock lives compare to his own?

I cast a brief glance toward the battle, then looked away. I continued helping Yimi relocate the injured. I couldn’t help with the inner city defense—and I didn’t particularly want to.

“Elder, are you alright?” In the chaos, I had done all I could to evacuate citizens and used my personal stash of potions to treat the most severely wounded.

“Cough... cough...” Those rescued remained in shock. Most hadn’t even regained full awareness. Those who had were still too scared to speak, their pale lips murmuring phrases like “Blessings of Carreto.”

I frowned slightly and sighed.

Those who lacked safety turned to gods for comfort. It was the most basic hope of this land’s people. Even without receiving a shred of blessing from the divine, they still clung to the idea of a protector to keep their spirit alive.

“Should we go help inside the city?”

I shook my head. I had no words to answer.

I didn’t know what the right thing to do was, and I had no way to save those who’d already become monsters.

Yimi didn’t press the issue. She continued distributing the remaining medicine.

“We’re out of supplies,” Yimi reported calmly, as though merely delivering an update. “All the medical alchemy potions you brought are used up.”

After all, this world had no storage rings. One couldn’t bring too many things on a journey.

“Curse... it’s a curse...” an old woman wrapped in bedding seemed to regain partial clarity, but her mind was still hazy. She muttered incoherently, her voice hard to understand.

“They abandoned Carreto’s teachings. They followed cult doctrine... and became monsters!”

Her sharp voice startled those around her. People recoiled in fear.

“Ma’am, are you alright?”

Yimi helped me comfort the elderly woman, but shot me a side glance, clearly rolling her eyes internally.

In terms of seniority, Teresa was probably older than all the humans here combined. Who’s calling who an old lady?

“Are you one of the Divine Princesses sent from the capital?” the woman suddenly clutched my hand, voice trembling.

“I... you could say that. May I ask what you meant by them turning into monsters through cult worship?”

“Oh, thank the heavens! The monsters in the city followed evil cults! Their hearts became impure and now they devour the innocent! You must destroy them!”

“They’re black sheep hiding among the white. Pretending to be devout—but secretly spies for the cults!”

“You mean those monsters were cultists? Weren’t they citizens of this city?”

“No! They rejected the Seven Saints and worshipped demons. They brought this on themselves!” the old woman said with certainty.

“Judging by your tone... this has happened before?”

“...Blonde young lady, you must be new, right?” a middle-aged man nearby stirred and added, “Cults turning people into monsters—this is a regular occurrence in the Empire.”

“That’s why the Empire treats cultists with such extreme measures. It’s why identification criteria are so harsh. Better to kill a thousand than let one go.”

“Let one slip, and this is the result...” He stared blankly toward the burning city. Just yesterday, he’d been a wealthy landowner in the prime district. Today, everything he owned had burned to ash.

“Damn cultists... curse them all!”

As more people regained consciousness, they began blaming cultists for the city’s downfall. Not a single person thanked Teresa for saving them.

Judging by their attire and tone, Teresa realized that most of these rescued, grumbling folks were minor landowners and merchants—furious now that their wealth had gone up in flames.

But rage aside, they wouldn’t dare go back to reclaim their property. All they could do was stand there, complain, and fume.

What was really going on here?

These people claimed the monsters were cultists, but Teresa’s instincts told her otherwise.

Not everyone rescued was wealthy. Some were poor commoners in rags. When they saw Teresa approach, they gave her a confused glance before lowering their heads.

To them, being saved or not made no difference. Living was just... living.

In their eyes, Teresa couldn’t see a single glimmer of “hope.”

“Hey, aren’t you a Divine Princess from the capital? Stop spacing out! Rally your friend and go kill those cultists in the city!”

“We paid so much in taxes to feed you—what the hell are you good for?!”

“Yeah! What, you want to take the Emperor’s salary and not do your job?!”

Perhaps they thought Teresa and Yimi were easy to bully. These people hurled their rage at them instead of the cultists who had destroyed their homes.

After all, these two girls wouldn’t retaliate violently.

“Shut up,” Yimi said coldly. “We weren’t sent by your Emperor. We have no duty to save you. Be grateful you’re alive.”

“Then what are you doing here?”

“My father’s the steward to a viscount! Why am I being made to sit here with beggars like these? Do you understand basic etiquette toward nobility?”

The poor shrank back in silence.

“Placing your own worth on scorning your suffering kin... how ugly,” Yimi said icily.

“What did you say, you little wench?!”

“Yeah, even if a lord summoned me, they’d hold a banquet! How could I sit with these lowlifes?!”

“Don’t you know any manners?”

Same race. Same crisis. And still, they fought each other, squabbling in the midst of invasion.

“...”

Yimi wanted to speak again—but suddenly saw Teresa crouch down, holding her head with one hand.

“What’s wrong?”

“...”

Teresa didn’t reply. The scene before her eyes triggered a splitting headache. Familiar visions resurfaced—fragmented but real.

“For the sake of the elf race? Teresa, be honest—was it for the elves as a whole, or just the Gold Elves?”

“Always playing the part of the noble lady—never lowering your proud head to see the Wood Elves, the Sea Elves, and us...”

“Didn’t you always say there’s no hierarchy among elves? Then why do we do all the dirty, dangerous work while the Gold Elves sit on high? Is it because you’re rare? Does that make your lives more precious than ours?”

“Teresa... my once-beloved... I’m sorry, but I don’t think we can ever understand each other again.”

The final image froze: a girl with wheat-colored skin and silver-gray hair, contrasting vividly.

Her eyes were crimson. Cold. And they pierced Teresa’s heart.

“Looks like I’ll have to defeat you—and force you to accept my view.”

The golden-haired, fair-skinned girl and the silver-haired, bronze-skinned girl stood face to face.

Two once-closest childhood friends. Now enemies at swordpoint.

Teresa snapped her eyes open, drenched in cold sweat. Her palms were soaked—trembling.

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