Saintess? Not Anymore! I'd Rather be a Destroyer-Chapter 276 - 262: Fighting Aurianna 3
"You hateful cat!" Hadina spat.
"Can I tell them, Eva?" Hadina asked.
"Why are you asking her?" Jade’s asked, his sharp eyes narrowing at Hadina.
Hadina huffed. "Well, that crazy lady can blast my head clean off, so yes, I’m gonna ask her!"
"Do whatever you want," Jade replied dismissively.
"Well, since I’ve got permission, can you let me go?" Hadina raised an eyebrow at him.
"Alright," Jade relented, releasing his grip.
Rubbing her neck, Hadina smirked. "Thanks. Anyway, Aurianna, she’s a race called a Gemaris, but she’s been sealed. Whenever Master uses too much of her power, her mother’s seal activates and tries to kill her. There are two things inside Master’s body that are killing her. First, her mother’s seal. Second, her ancestor." She held up two fingers for emphasis.
"Ancestor?" Avriel echoed, a confused look clouding his face.
Hadina nodded. "Yep. Remember how I said Master is an experiment? Her ancestor didn’t exactly give permission for her to wield their power. It was forced on her, and now that ancestor is trying to kill her too. But hey, I’m confident Master will fix these problems. Easy peasy!" She grinned.
"And if she doesn’t?" Jade’s tone was cold, a stark contrast to Hadina’s cheerfulness.
"She’ll die in 20 years," Hadina admitted, her grin fading as she frowned.
"Eva’s space slows down her ancestor’s power, but when Master isn’t in the domain prison, she starts losing control over her body—and losing her memories as well. That’s why she’s so forgetful."
"And her mother?" Avriel asked.
Hadina sighed, shaking her head. "I have no idea who she is. Even Eva doesn’t know, but she says Master’s mother is dangerous. So I believe her."
"Dangerous?" Jade pressed.
Hadina crossed her arms, her expression grim. "Even Vivian said whoever Aurianna’s real mother is, she’s ridiculously powerful. And it’s clear that she wants Master dead. But Master won’t just die—she’ll become a world-destroyer like her big sister!" she stated proudly but leaving Jade, Jugi and Avriel in confusion once more.
"Oh, so that’s why the High God wanted to meet her," a warm, voice said. The speaker, an elderly man with a long beard, stood nearby. His commoner’s clothing and sweet, grandfatherly smile made him seem harmless—at least at first glance. He brushed his beard thoughtfully, whiles nodding.
Peter’s group and Yelina froze, their eyes widening in shock as they immediately recognized who he was.
’Why’d Sacred Grat here?’ Juvin wondered. With a frown.
’If he personally came here it could only mean one thing and my institution was right. That Aurianna is also a pillar of fate like us. But is she prosperity or new Era?’ he wondered.
"Wait..." Yelina whispered, her voice trembling. ’That’s—’ she realized but decided not to say a word.
Hadina’s group, however, remained oblivious.
"Who the hell are you, old man?" Hadina snapped, glaring at him with her usual annoyance.
The elderly man’s eyes sparkled with quiet amusement. "I’m just an old man passing through. Continue your story, child—it intrigues me," he said softly. But the way he smiled left an unsettling impression, as though he knew far more than he let on.
"You’re able to hear what I’m saying? That shouldn’t be possible," Hadina snapped, her glare narrowing at Sacred Grat. "My voice is supposed to sound distorted to anyone trying to hear secrets about my Master."
"Oh, really?" Grat replied, brushing his beard thoughtfully. Staring at the other who nodded confirming it was true. This whole time they couldn’t hear what Hadina was saying. It was as though they were listening to another distorted language.
Hadina frowned deeper, still suspicious of him, "I didn’t know that dear... but do continue. Don’t mind me." Grat gave a dry laugh, waving his hand dismissively.
’This old man... When did he even get here?’ Jade thought, his sharp golden eyes narrowing. Despite his heightened senses, Grat’s approach had gone entirely unnoticed—a fact that put him on edge.
"And what did you mean when you said the High God wanted to meet Aurianna?" Jade asked coldly, his suspicion only growing.
"Oh, you heard that? Don’t mind this old man." Grat chuckled, "I sometimes blabber nonsense."
But Jade wasn’t buying it. His gaze stayed fixed on the old man.
"Hadina, you’ve been mentioning too many names and things I know nothing about," Jade finally said, shifting his attention back to her.
Hadina smirked, placing her hands on her hips. "Well, duh! You’re new. Of course, you’d know nothing about Master!" Her pride practically radiated off her.
"What is a world destroyer, child?" Grat interjected smoothly, his tone curious yet deliberate.
Hadina tilted her head, considering her answer. "Hmm, I wouldn’t exactly call Master a world destroyer. But her race? They literally control planets! That’s what makes her so cool!" She clasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling with admiration. "One day, she’ll ascend, and I’ll be by her side as her wife for eternity!" she declared with a dazed, dreamy expression.
Avriel rolled his eyes. "At this point, I think she’s just blabbering nonsense."
Hadina stuck her tongue out at him. "Hehe! Once Master removes all her seals, you’ll see how strong she really is!"
Jade frowned. "And how many of these supposed seals has she broken?"
Hadina held up two fingers proudly. "Twenty down, with 980 to go!"
"That’s pathetic," Jade scoffed, his voice dripping with disdain.
Hadina’s playful expression vanished, replaced by a.cold glare. "Oh, is it? Do you know how many smart souls it took for Aurianna to kill to just break twenty seals?"
Jade’s brow furrowed. "How many?"
"It takes her 100,000 souls to break one seal. So imagine how many people she must kill and eat for twenty!" Hadina exclaimed.
"Luckily, Eva’s got a lot of good monsters Master can hunt down. She’s so resourceful!" A smug grin crept back onto her face.
"I see," Jade muttered, his mind calculating the implications.
Hadina crossed her arms, pouting. "Now can you all stop asking me questions? Master is not just human, okay? My Master is the perfect race! Humph!"
"I still don’t understand a word of what you said, Hadina," Zagan chimed in, his deep voice tinged with genuine confusion.
Hadina sighed, shaking her head. "Ugh, of course, you don’t! None of you appreciate Master like I do!"
Grat chuckled softly, his gaze lingering on Hadina for a moment before shifting back to Jade. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮
"I just know you all won’t live to see the day of my grand wedding! And once that happens, I’ll finally receive all of Master’s three sisters’ blessings. Hehe!" She laughed before shooting a smirk at the group.
"Why’s she smirking at us like that?" Yelina muttered, confused by Hadina’s behavior.
"She still thinks being Aurianna’s familiar means they’re getting married or something," Jugi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Well, because she did!" Hadina declared, raising her hand triumphantly. "This ring of our contract is proof enough!" She waved her hand dramatically, showing off a diamond-shaped mark on her finger that shimmered like a crystal.
Jugi twitched, veins visibly popping on his forehead. "I want to slap her. That’s just a contract mark."
"Same," Avriel muttered, arms crossed.
"Also... who’s Vivian?" Jade interjected, steering the conversation back.
"Don’t mention that crazy woman’s name!" Hadina hissed, her eyes narrowing in disdain.
"But you just said it," Jade pointed out with a frown.
Hadina sighed in frustration. "She’s just... ugh. Similar to Aurianna’s race but way stronger than me—though not stronger than Eva."
"I see," Jade replied, his tone calm as ever. "I guess I’ll be patient."
"Yes, you’ll have to be," Hadina said, her tone sweet. "After all, you’ll meet them soon enough."
’Hehe, once he enters the domain prison, I’m paying him back for that slap he gave me today!’ Hadina thought, her giggling.
Jade’s sharp gaze flicked toward her, catching the corners of her lips twitching into a devilish smirk. ’She’s definitely plotting something. She can’t even hide it. How annoying.’ He sighed, shaking his head.
---
After nearly an hour of fighting each other, the dungeon lands was littered with scorching marks and huge holes on the ground. Everyone panted heavily, their bodies trembling under the weight of their injuries. Everyone except Aurianna, who stood completely unscathed.
"My master is Lady Gray of the Church of Paige! If any harm befalls me, you’ll have her to deal with!" Athena threatened, her voice trembling as she glared daggers at Aurianna, hoping using Gray’s name would stop her.
"Chi-chi-chi, lalalalalala!" Aurianna’s laughter rang out, sharp and unhinged. She wiped the tears from her eyes, her expression one of pure amusement.
"Why is she laughing?" Getha whispered, baffled.
"That bald woman is your master?!" Aurianna asked between fits of laughter, her tone dripping with mockery.
"How dare you make a mockery of Lady Gray!" Athena roared.
"Just being associated with the Church of Paige is reason enough for me to kill you," Aurianna said coldly.
Without hesitation, she lunged forward, her crystal blades singing through the air as she struck at Athena. The clash of Hugh pitched clangd echoed as Athena barely managed to block the attacks with her ice sword, her arms trembling under the force of Aurianna’s relentless sword slashed.
