My villains episode 188
interlude. Daughter of Salvation
Inside a dark and cozy tent, a woman is asleep on a bed made of piles of furs and blankets.
He was taller than most men and had pale tan skin. She was a type of beauty rarely found in the kingdom.
A cold wind blew across the wasteland at dawn .
The heavy tent fluttered, soaked in dew.
Could it be because it was noisy?
The woman, who had been sleeping as if she would never wake up, suddenly fluttered her eyelids.
“Ugh,”
the amber eyes blinked for a while, wandering unfocused in the darkness. The woman, whose gaze became a little clearer, groped for the head with a weak hand.
My head was heavy and my eyes were swollen. Because of her dulled senses, she couldn’t grab the earthenware pot filled with water.
With the sound of ‘Junggeureong’, water and earthenware pieces splashed in all directions.
Attracted by the sound, the entrance to the tent burst open and two men rushed in.
“miss!”
It was a middle-aged man who shouted that.
A red bandana on his forehead and several bronze bracelets around his wrists. It was the outfit of a nudein warrior.
While the woman blinked blankly, the middle-aged warrior turned his head toward the young warriors who followed. Then, one of them snatched the lantern he was holding and gave the order.
“You bring Argos. You told me that the young lady was awake in Ashun!”
As the two warriors hurriedly left the tent, the middle-aged warrior approached the woman and knelt down.
“Are you out of your mind, my lady?”
“… Rubio.”
The woman slowly raised her upper body and opened her dry lips. A choked voice.
“Give me some water first.” She took the leather water bottle Rubio had given her and drank it right away.
The waterskin made of goatskin gave off a distinctive acrid smell, but to the woman now it felt sweeter than thickly burnt honey water.
“Whoa.”
After quenching her throat, the woman scratching her lips asked the warrior Rubio.
“Where are you?”
“Take it easy, lady. It is the camp of the clan.” The lantern Rubio had set on the floor colored the woman’s eyes a reddish golden light.
His eyes turned to the outside of the tent.
It was a land full of black stones and broken sand, without yellow soil or green grass.
A middle-aged warrior who noticed that gaze added a comment.
“This is the ‘Unreido’ region.”
“…Unray too. You are from the west.”
“yes. We had to get out of Marva as soon as possible.”
The woman wiped her face. Then something caught on my fingertips, so I groped for it.
“O uh 9”
There was a headband wrapped around her forehead. It was a chain covered with tough leather, and in the center of the forehead was something like a jewel.
“It is a deterrence tool made by the elders by gathering their strength.”
“A deterrent?”
“yes. It’s said that it prevents the passage of the void from running out of control. Even without accompanying the elder.”
Long fingers groped for the restraint.
“How much time has passed?”
“…Your lady woke up after three weeks.”
“…three major? Isn’t it three days?”
“yes. Three weeks, ma’am.”
” oh my god.”
To the woman who opened her mouth slightly, Rubio explained what had happened three weeks ago.
The war ended in defeat, he was narrowly rescued by Argos, Doyle was hanged, and the clan briefly fled west.
The woman looked down at her hair as she listened to the series of stories.
Her gray hair, reminiscent of burnt ash, was soon tinged with a light purple hue. The passage of emptiness through the pineal gland affected her body.
As she looked down at her hair with subtle eyes, a dozen or so warriors arrived at the tent with the sound of busy footsteps.
“Lady Atilia!”
“Agos.”
Agos, a middle-aged man who was standing at the head of the warriors, knelt beside Rubio and spread his palms towards the ceiling.
“Father Lord, thank you for this grace. oh girl I’m really glad.”
Agos, as well as the other men, were thrilled.
The warriors were all those who acted as the woman’s uncles or older brothers. While such warriors were sharing a happy encounter with a woman, another warrior entered the tent.
“The lady’s clan chief is calling.” “…the clan chief?”
“yes. You must go to Asun right now.”
At those words, the warrior Agos frowned.
“You woke up after 3 weeks, but you didn’t have time to refresh yourself, did you mean a call?”
“As Agos-nim knows, the elders’ torch is so strong…
When the young warrior mentioned the elders, Agos tutted his tongue and shut his mouth.
The woman who got up with the support of the warriors staggered for a while before standing alone.
“…tell me you’re leaving now.”
“Yes, lady.”
Rubio, a middle-aged warrior, looked at the woman with a pitiful look, then pulled off his cloak and wrapped it around her.
“It’s already October, my lady. Autumn in Unlei Do is as cold as winter in Seyvern.”
“Thank you, Rubio.”
It was around dawn when the woman stepped out of the tent, wearing a rough mantle.
She puffed out her chest and inhaled the cold air. I looked up, enjoying the cooling sensation in my airways and lungs.
The dawn sky was beautiful over the black silhouettes of the mighty mountains. In the dark blue sky, there were several lumps of clouds, some of which were shaded and black, but most of them were dyed pink and rippled finely.
While the dazed woman filled her eyes and chest with the dawn sky, the camp of the al-Qadari clan woke up with a rumble.
“You’re awake.”
“Father, the Lord has taken care of you.”
“Attilia sister-” A
one-armed, middle-aged, blind old woman, a woman who lost her husband, a child, a naked man, and a skinny girl…
They were not warriors, merchants, thieves, or sorcerers.
Knowing well that the powerless look into the future through her, the woman smiled broadly.
As she moved, she exchanged brief greetings with those around her.
“It’s been a while, everyone.”
“Oh lady.”
“It is windy. Go into the tent. You too.”
Despite her pale face, her smile was still healthy and beautiful. Thanks to that, the clan members were also able to smile.
The warriors including Rubio and Agos naturally followed the woman. After about thirteen or four tents had passed, the women and warriors stopped walking.
It was in front of Asun, a large and splendid tent with round ornaments on the top and red curtains on each side.
“miss.”
As the woman was about to kneel, Argos, the car warrior, opened her mouth. Suddenly, an expressionless, hard face turned to him.
“There is something I forgot.”
“Did you forget?”
“…Lord Phoenix has left a message.”
“Nyx go’?”
The woman’s golden eyes fluctuated for a moment.
“Which one?”
“He said,”
Agos continued after a brief hesitation.
“He said that he believes that he will be reunited with you who are free someday.”
“…is that the end?”
“yes.”
The woman chewed on the words with her eyes closed.
“…I believe that we will meet again. With me regained freedom someday…
For a moment, she smiled and nodded her head.
As the warriors retreated, the woman knelt in front of Asun.
“Attilia, the daughter of al-Qadari, asks to come to Asun.”
Hareskith, the divine warrior, rolled up the light green cloth and she stepped into the tent on her knees. Then he bowed his head in front of the leaders of the al-Qadari clan.
“It is an honor to be in Asun.”
“Oh Atilia.”
A gray-haired middle-aged man sitting on a silk cushion in the center quickly got up and hugged the woman.
“You are awake. I was really worried.”
Giamo, the middle-aged clan chief, patted her on the back and stroked her hair, asking if there was any pain or discomfort anywhere. The woman shook her head with an awkward expression.
“Yes, I’m glad. I’m so glad.”
Following him, the elders also handed over a word of thanks. The woman’s heart warmed involuntarily, and she laughed inwardly.
‘What’s the difference between me and a dog if I’m still trying to wag my tail?’
As if to agree with that idea, Giamo, the clan chief, ended the small talk and brought it to the point.
“A good opportunity has come for the clan, Attilia.”
“…If you say it’s an opportunity.”
“Countess Tristan and Doyle’s proposal, Countess Clarissa has done the same.”
As the woman was confused, the hooked-nosed old woman sitting to the right of Giamo frowned.
“Tsk. that stupid thing You mean you forgot? The manor, the manor.”
“…manor? Do you mean ‘Glettershire’ by any chance?”
Her words warmed Asun’s mood a little.
“Yes, Glutershire. It’s a very fertile manor half a day’s drive from Multingham… As
the old woman blurted out her words, her eyes stained with greed, Giamo nodded and continued.
“okay. The countess, who became the new owner of Marva, will bestow the manor.”
“Then the price is…
“a little service.”
Giamo noticed the uneasiness on the woman’s face and smiled as if telling her not to worry.
“The Count wants Atiliane to work for the Mullin family. I was intrigued by your performance in blowing up the gates of Longville.”
Then the woman swallowed the accusation and opened her mouth.
“What can I do?”
“That has not been decided yet.”
“…Then I will rest until you order.”
“No, there is no need.”
Giamo continued with a smile.
“Let’s leave right away, even tomorrow. If you meet the Earl at least a day early, the day when our clan takes over Gluttonshire will come that much sooner.”
The woman bowed her head and sighed. The soft hairs of the carpet swayed.
Then she heard something unexpected.
“Ten years is not such a long time, Atilia.”
“……yes?”
“Your life is short, so I don’t know. But for me and the other elders, 10 years is”
“What do you mean by 10 years?”
Seeing the woman’s embarrassed face, Giamo raised one eyebrow.
“I forgot the most important thing me.”
“The clan chief looks old too.”
“Huh, I guess so. I thought it was still correct…
The clan chief smiled while facing the elders before continuing his explanation.
To sum up, after removing all the jokes and gossip, Countess Clarissa appreciated the woman’s abilities and wanted to take her under her command, and decided to give the Al-Qadari clan the Cluttershire as a condition of serving her for 10 years.
“Ten years…
the woman was at a loss for words. This is because to her, who is only 23 this year, 10 years seemed far away.
“It would have been impossible if the elders hadn’t developed the deterrent you are wearing now.”
“…what do you mean by that?”
“Isn’t it very dangerous to have a child with great power like you under your command?”
Saying that, the clan chief Giamo took out a stick from the back of the cushion and held it up. It was a short wand with a dark green jewel at the end.
“This is the object that matches that deterrent. Thanks to a lot of luck, I was able to complete it.”
As the wand pointed at her, the woman unknowingly fumbled for a headband or restraint on her forehead.
“Like a pendant, it has the ability to control you or help you when you cannot control your powers.”
A woman’s strength is based on her mental strength. So, when her mental powers were scattered, the powers of vision and emptiness she used were also scattered.
So, the clan chiefs and elders would use ‘forbidden pendants’ to inflict pain on women, thereby dissipating their mental powers…
“The difference with the pendants is that even those who have no knowledge of the clan’s sorcery can wield this wand. .”
Giamo, the chief of the clan, offered words of consolation with a benevolent smile to the woman who shook her clenched fists.
“Don’t worry. The new earl is sincere and gentle, so even if he had this wand, he wouldn’t treat you badly.”
“But no matter what, I am a heretic to him. If you give me something like that”
“Uh, do you think the Count would accept the deal without this basic safety device? Don’t say anything else.”
“This is no different than selling me into slavery. Why do you have to do something like this-”
The woman noticed something while she was talking and opened her mouth with a shocked look on her face.
“…The count didn’t suggest it first.”
As Giamo twitched his eyebrows and shut his mouth, the elders clicked their tongues and threw out one word at a time.
“You’ve been making a lot of mistakes lately.”
“That’s how many times I told you to be careful.”
The frowning Giamo’s face turned red with anger. He grunted and yelled at the woman.
“This decision was made after deliberation with the elders here! Don’t vomit with your katabuta and step back!”
“But the clan chief, no father!”
“Ugh! Come on back!”
Along with the shout, the wand in Giamo’s hand flashed. Then the woman who had been approaching him on her knees fell forward with an evil scream.
“Turn it off”
“Go ahead! Go and get ready to go to Multingham!”
“Oh, this is not this. Father, please-”
The old woman with a hooked nose said with a stern face as the woman trembled in pain.
“Get out of here, Atilia. Is your consciousness delayed because of you?”
“…Consciousness?”
“Yes, consciousness! A sacred ceremony to elect an elder!” The woman shook her head to shake off the pain and looked around.
“Del Otto and Maurio looked after you, and everyone went away screaming! You haven’t forgotten, have you?”
Originally, Asun, the head of the clan, consisted of one clan chief and seven elders.
However, two of the elders were killed at the hands of an assassin, leaving only five elders sitting in Asun.
“The sun will rise soon.”
“Do you want to be dragged away by the Hares Kisses? Atilia!”
Looking back at the one clan chief and the five elders, the woman shuddered as if struck by lightning.
‘Become stronger. kill six Become a daughter of salvation. Then I will be free.’
Following the realization, the woman remembered a man.
It reminded me of a rough yet soft touch, a hot and captivating breath, and a firm yet warm embrace.
“ha.”
yes it was now
The time to answer the call of destiny, the time to live up to Phoenix’s faith…
was now.
The golden eyes shone even brighter. The woman smiled faintly and opened her mouth.
“Kill six.”
She murmured and slowly got up.
Sensing that something was wrong, the head of the clan raised the wand, but the woman raised her hand to release the restraint and the shackles at once.
“Ah Atilia-! What are you doing!”
As soon as the restraint was released, the power of the void surged through the pineal gland.
The radiance flowing through the hair, the light emitted from the eyes, the third eye opened on the forehead…
“Stop it!”
The elders hurriedly took out a golden pendant. The dark green jewel glowed with the muttered incantation, and Atilia let out a scream of pain.
“Kiyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
It was a strangely pitched scream.
Normally, it would have been an instant fainting pain, but the woman managed to regain her senses in the end. Her anger at Asun, the elation that the prophecy came true, her longing for a free life and her desire to embrace Phoenix supported her spirit.
“Oh oh lord father-”
The clan chief Giamo took out his pendant with trembling hands. But before his pendant could emit light, purple tentacles sprouted from the woman’s cervical vertebrae.
The six spears of emptiness that extended in that way pierced one middle-aged man and five old men in an instant.
“Quaaaaagh!”
“Save Attil Atilia-”
The void spears rotated wildly.
The six bodies turned into twelve masses of flesh, and the screams, moans and pleas ceased.
“Protect Asun!”
“Treason!”
The Hares kisses screamed and ran into the tent.
After killing all the clan chiefs and elders, Attilia, who had been standing in a daze, rose into the air with her eyes shining.
The spears of the void swept and scratched randomly in all directions. The red curtains were torn apart, and the thick pillars were broken and toppled over.
The Hares Kisses got out of the collapsed Asun and looked up at the woman.
She was floating in the air, wriggling six tentacles. The sacred warriors of Asun drew their swords and pointed at the woman and screamed.
“Treason!”
“Attilia killed the clan chief and elders!”
The uproar did not last long.
It was because the spears of the void were attacked by the Hares kisses.
Fu-wook!
The woman’s mental strength was heightened by a sly sense of accomplishment and a dizzying sense of liberation. The purple tentacles easily penetrated the thick scale armor.
“Keruu”
“Kuuuu half translator-”
A dozen Hares kisses were pierced through the shoulders or thighs and tumbled across the floor. Even as they crawled on the ground, they did not hide their enmity toward the woman.
Agos, Rubio and other warriors looked shocked as they watched the collapsed Asun and Bloodholly Hares kiss.
“Girl-”
“This is what this is.”
The woman, who was slowly descending to the ground, stopped descending with a couple of spans left on the ground.
She still had eye light emanating from her three eyes and her six tentacles wriggling menacingly.
The clan members of Al Qadari, who jumped out of the sudden uproar, trembled in fear as they saw it.
In a situation where no one dared to open his mouth, the warrior Agos gritted his teeth and stepped forward.
“My lady, what the hell are you doing!”
The woman quietly looked down at Argos.
She looked a little dazed. His mind was distracted while controlling the power of emptiness springing from the pineal gland. So, I answered Agos’s question with a slightly different attitude than usual.
“I got rid of Asun.”
“…Lady Atilia?”
“I am not Atilia.”
The woman remembered a name.
The name he had hidden deep in his heart after hearing it from his mother.
The name that a man arbitrarily took out and embraced.
“My name is Atalante.”
Just then, the sun appeared from the east. The dawn that colored the sky illuminated the woman. Strange shadows were cast over the wasteland.
“I am the one who will save you.”
Could it be that Atalanta was overwhelmed by the power she showed? Or did he guess that someday the prophecies he had heard would come true?
Ordinary clan members, even brave warriors and wise shamans could not breathe.
Argos forced his stiff jaw to move and let out a voice.
“Wow, did you say you would save us?”
“That is a prophecy and my destiny.”
Agos remembered someone he had seen 23 years ago. The man who was the son of Atalanta’s father.
He dropped to his knees and bowed his head.
“…daughter of salvation.” The warriors followed him prostrate. Following the warriors, the clan members prostrated themselves.
“Daughter of Salvation-”
With the collapsed Asun as the center, temples spread out in all directions like waves crashing.
Atalanta wasn’t looking at people. She was looking eastward, not at the rising sun.
The warrior Rubio asked Atalanta, who had been floating in silence for a long time.
“Where will you lead us? Is it east?”
It was usually not difficult to suppress the craving and desire now that most of the mental power was concentrated in the passage of the void.
“……no.”
But Atalanta did it.
It was because she knew very well that in order to truly achieve what she wanted, the fulfillment of the prophecy had to be given priority.
The savior in the prophecy looked down at Rubio to the al-Qadari clan.
“To the west. We go to the west.”
