Seijo ni Narunode Nidoume no Jinsei wa Katte ni Sasetemoraimasu ~Outaihi wa, Zensei de Watashi wo Fu

     The fake saint covered her face with her hands and kept on groaning. Her arms and shoulders that were hidden in the white robe melted as she returned to her original form. Her shoulder gradually grew, the size different from the saint. 

     At this time, Liz felt uncomfortable. Something’s strange. Something’s wrong. She doesn’t feel at ease and tries to soothe her heart. 

     Then she thought, why didn’t the fake saint break the mirror herself? She couldn’t have bothered to threaten Olivia to bring her to the mirror, she could’ve either destroyed or hid it herself. Wasn’t it quite inconvenient for her? And what happened to Keefa? The fake saint is here. He said that he’d keep the fake saint’s attention in the palace. If the fake saint isn’t there, he would’ve told Liz.

     She had a bad feeling.

     The face of the fake saint dissolved in between their hands. Their skin appeared darker than the saint’s. Next was the ears and the neck.

     ‘…It  feels familiar.’

     It shouldn’t be since Liz doesn’t know the face of the candidate who lost to the saint six decades ago and yet—

     Piki—She heard a sound like a dry twig was stepped on. Liz turned her gaze towards it and she was shocked. There was a small crack on top of the shining mirror that Olivia was holding. As Liz kept on looking at it, the crack gradually extended towards the center of the mirror.

     At that moment, she felt as if she had been shot. She understood. Why the fake saint didn’t break the mirror herself and why she hasn’t heard anything from Keefa.

     In front of them, the fake saint began to change to their true identity.

     “Olivia, put down the mirror! That person’s different!” Liz shouted.

     “Eh..?” Olivia turns with a surprised look.

     The fake saint cried out and fell on the floor like a broken doll. Both hands covering their face fell, their eyes were closed. The face was now revealed. There was no trace of the saint, he has returned from his original form. 

     Olivia screamed at the sight and Lloyd turned pale from behind them.

     Hidden in the robe was a tall, sturdy figure. They had black short hair, thick eyebrows, and a square angular face. The real identity of the fake saint isn’t a woman, let alone the candidate six decades ago. It was—

     “Sir Hades?” Lloyd blankly muttered.

     “This isn’t real. Why —”

     “Perhaps it is the work of the fake saint. In order to deceive us, she changed his face and body to look exactly like the real saint.The real fake saint is going to treat Keefa in the Royal Palace.” Liz said in a faint voice.

     The fake saint probably told him that if he were to follow what she says, she’ll make him the chief priest. Unlike Olivia, Hades accepted her proposal “

     Olivia turned her head.

     “Did you do this to keep us in the temple so as to not interfere with Prince Keefa’s treatment?”

     No, it’s different. Liz slowly shook her head and gently took the mirror from Olivia’s hands. She held the mirror with both hands and handled it with great care.

     ‘I should have noticed it sooner—’

     There was a rush of regret that she wanted to wipe off.

     Suddenly, the crack in the mirror grew. It cracked giving out a crisp, dry sound as if it had done it’s part.

     ‘Please, stop. Please! Don’t crack anymore……!’

     She strongly prayed in her heart for it to stop, but it didn’t.

     “Liz, no, that mirror……!?”

     Just as Lloyd ran over to Hades, his eyes were wide open—

     The surface of the mirror broke, creating a loud noise. Broken pieces in Liz’s hands scatter on the floor.

     “No…Why?” Olivia screamed.

     Liz picked up the broken mirror with a trembling hand and pressed it to her chest. She felt her body lose strength. She tried so hard, but her legs felt weak. Why didn’t she notice it sooner? A wave of regret hit her.

     The mirror that reflects one’s original form can only be used once. Once its used, it loses its magic and breaks. The fake saint knew it so she made Hades change and make her use the mirror to him for the mirror to break. Therefore, she can’t expose the identity of the fake saint anymore.

     ‘I was too late to notice…’

     The second time he was caught, her spirits had been seen through.

     ‘…… Like myself’

     The mirror shattered. Her door is gone. Her road becoming the next saint was ruined—

     “This isn’t real. Liz’s door, the mirror…It’s my fault. I held up this mirror.” Olivia staggered back with a pale face.

     “It’s not Olivia’s fault.. I asked you to. The fake saint was one of them. “

     “What are you going to do? Without the door, the next saint would be… “　

     “Hades!” Lloyd felt that he was dead and had lost his voice.

     Olivia’s cries made him come back to himself. Hades’ skin lying on the floor became muddy. He hastily raised him and noticed that he’s breathing.

     “Sir Hades!” Lloyd desperately called out to him, however his eyes did not open. He couldn’t move his body. He’s like a doll even though he’s breathing.

     The tip of Hades’ middle finger suddenly crumbled. It was horrific. A lump of water and wet sand fell. That’s how it looked like and from that point on, his middle finger fell and so did the other fingers as it disintegrated into sand.

     “No! what’s going on?” Olivia screamed. Hades’ hands began to crumble one after another, becoming grains of sand.

     Liz and Lloyd were silent as if they lost their voice. There was nothing to be done.

     Hades’ body turned into sand and a black manastone rolled out of his thin robe. That was the black light that came into the room earlier. The fake saint had Hades use it.

     Lloyd kneeled down beside the sand that had been Hades’ body. He held his forehead with one hand and let out a bitter voice, “Even his voice was the same as the current saint. You know what happens if you change your face and body using a forbidden technique, even using the manastone as a bonus…!”

     Even if he knew, his greed has won over him. Still… 

     Lloyd groaned out between his clenched teeth, “Yes, Hades had a bad personality, he’s always crooked and mischievous, and nasty, but…”

     Liz nodded. That’s right.

     “But it is not enough for one to die. It shouldn’t be like this…!”

     True.

     Lloyd’s trembling hand stretched out to the sandy body Hades. At that moment, the grains of sand melted into the air and scattered as the wind blew. Nothing was left. Only the white robe and shoes that he wore remained.

     “Sir Hades…” Lloyd muttered, his voice hoarse and faint. Suddenly, a black round light came out of the chest of the robe, it’s about the size of a thumb. It seemed to be Hades’ last thoughts, the last tenacity that desperately clung to this world.

     Lloyd tried to gently grasp it, but it escaped as if it was frightened. Again, it floated and fluttered, it had nowhere to go.

     Before Lloyd and Olivia looked grieved out, Liz quickly held out her hand and without hesitation, seized Hades’ ball of light. Lloyd was startled then he grimaced. Liz didn’t care and gazed at the ball of light struggling to escape from her grasp. She closed her eyes and her whole body was enveloped in a white light. A pure white light.

     “Liz —” Olivia gasped.

     She knew that Hades didn’t like her. As Lloyd said, his character isn’t that good and has lost himself due to his greed. But there should be no such thing as this. There is no way that he could die unreasonably like an abandoned piece.

     It was like them in their last life. They were swung around as the butler wanted, and treated them like a chess piece. 

     She’ll never make that mistake again. She wished and wanted to create and be in a world where no one else would have such unreasonable thoughts and experience. That’s why she wanted to be the saint.

     She can’t do anything right now, but—

     From the bottom of her heart, she prayed.

     The black ball of light in Liz’s hand heavily trembled. It blended with the soft white light that surrounded Liz, melting together while shining. Unlike his body when he had passed away that turned into grains of sand that scattered with the wind, it shone and faded as if it was satisfied.

     Lloyd, Olivia, and the Holy dragon stared at Liz silently as the awakened penguin shook its head from left to right. 

     Liz opened her eyes and as she turned towards them, they stood back. The mirror, Liz’s door, was broken and shattered. However, she still has things to do.

     They must reveal what the duke has done and the identity of the fake saint. Keefa is waiting, but there are no more mirrors that can reflect one’s true image. The fake saint was forced to use Hades to break it in order not to reveal their true identity. 

     Liz looked into the mirror. Although there’s practically little mirror surface, there are still remnants of it at the edges of the oval frame. It shone brightly. Do something. Something flashed in the corner of her head.

     ‘…Maybe’

     Liz, with a broken mirror in her hand, began to wander and spin around.

     “Hey, you all right……?”

     Olivia’s face was stiff, perhaps she thought that she was shocked and started to act strangely. Liz didn’t care and kept on turning her hand to the mirror.

     ‘Yes, that’s right.’

     The remnants of the mirror twinkle only when it reflects against the walls. The intensity of the light is different. It’s a faint one, but Liz knew and understood it.

     “Shiro, can you destroy only the surface of the wall?”

     The Holy Dragon threw a weak white flame against the wall as she had requested. The wall made a loud noise as its surface collapsed. Olivia was surprised to see what was inside the wall. 

     “Indeed like the present saint” Lloyd chuckled admiringly.

     Liz looked up. It’s too much, that fake saint. Her red eyes gave out a strong glow, as she looked ahead she said,  “Let’s go to Keefa.”

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