Saintess? Not Anymore! I'd Rather be a Destroyer-Chapter 303 - 240: Ball

"High god!! What are you doing here?" Paige asked, startled by the High god’s sudden appearance. She hadn’t even heard the deity approach.

"Do you want the humans to worship you again?" the High god inquired, a soothing smile playing on its lips.

The High god asked as it smiled at Paige, a soothing tone in its voice.

Paige was silent for a moment. She didn’t know why the High God asked her such an obvious question. She felt that it was a trap of some kind but as she looked away from the High God, seeing Humans bowing before the Saintess, she couldn’t take it anymore. She gritted her teeth, hatred burning in her eyes, "Yes."

"Good, good. First, you must get rid of that intolerable person," the High god gestured toward the Saintess on the screen.

"How? She has my divine power which is a promise between both of us that I couldn’t hurt her, so I’m unable to do anything to her," Paige protested.

The High god chuckled. "Who said you need to injure her? Rumors, my dear, are a powerful weapon. Spread a rumor that whoever drinks the Saintess’s blood will live as long as an elf. Humans are obsessed with longevity, especially the powerful ones. They wouldn’t want to die. They don’t have the long life of elves, demons and the other races and this frustrated them to much. Most aren’t willing to be stronger in order to live long. So give them this rumor and many would come for her life. Once done you just need to deprive all the human kingdom from its prosperity and let them suffer. With their Saintess gone and their land in suffering they’ll surely come to you for salvation and your church. Whenever they go astray you let them suffer and they’ll come crawling right back to you."

Paige grinned, the High god’s plan resonating with her. "Thank you for the suggestion, High god. I’ll do exactly as you say."

The High god chuckled tauntingly, "Good child, you don’t want to return to how you were in the past right?!"

Paige in response trembled slightly in anger, biting the inside of her lip to try and calm herself. ’It’s your fault this happened! You were the one who told me to honor a Saintess...’

The High god tilted its head, "Something wrong, Paige?"

She bowed her head, "Absolutely not! I promise I will never return to how I was in the past!"

Paige did what the high god said and even the Saintess came crying to her to save her life. How dare the Saintess come crawling to her after everything that happened!? She buried her pride and honor to ask for help after acting so high and mighty all those years ago.

Paige couldn’t help enjoying the show. Those who believed in the rumor happened to be those most adamant in their belief in the Saintess. They were her so-called "Most loved followers." Those same individuals who hunted her all sought to kill her for eternal life. The goose chase was so entertaining to Paige, so entertaining in fact that she got snacks and ate as the scenes played out for her. After a week or so of hunting, the Saintess was captured and killed. Paige felt extreme joy at the sight. And the Saintess cried out with her last breath for Paige to save her but she denied.

As a goddess she was constantly bored so this was a lovely entertainment to behold. The wars, killings, distrust, and greed of these people gave Paige the adrenaline to want to mess more with the humans and let them only rely on her. She slowly twisted from a peaceful goddess who simply wanted the people responsible for her birth to love and worship her, to doing anything for that affection and praise, even at the cost of innocent lives.

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"Princess Aurianna, huh? Such a pity that your life would end so soon. No one can be prettier than I, the goddess of beauty," Paige laughed, her gaze fixed on the princess with scorn.

_______

"Princess, it’s time," Catherine announced, finishing the final touches on Aurianna’s attire, a delicate tiara adorning her head.

"You look absolutely stunning, Princess!" Yui exclaimed.

"She’s right, you do look breathtaking," Shailor added.

"Let’s go then."

"Yes, Princess," the maids bowed, escorting Aurianna through the castle hall toward the ballroom. As the grand doors swung open, a hush fell over the crowd.

All eyes were on Aurianna as she stood in the doorway. A knight in golden armor announced her grand entrance, "Presenting: Princess Aurianna Vanluad!" A trumpet was blown then after.

Everyone clapped and she returned the gesture with a dignified bow, lifting her gown as she did so. She entered the ballroom, an elegant stride in her step. A few tried to strike a conversation with her by giving her a compliment or happy belated birthday wishes but they were quickly shut down by a cold glare.

A murmur of admiration rippled through the crowd. "She’s so beautiful," one lady whispered.

Aurianna was wearing a midnight blue gown that was adorned with light blue highlights, her sleeves were long covering her shoulders, as a pair of long black sleeves covered her arms. A large light blue bowtie was attached to the back of the gown while similar bow ties were tied to both sides of her long hair.

"The rumors are true; the princess is like a goddess," another person murmured.

"Her skin is as fair as snow," someone else commented.

"Her eyes are like gems, so exotic," another voice chimed in.

"What a fair lady!" a man exclaimed from the crowd.

"Thank the goddess for blessing Queen Amber with such a beautiful child," another person commented as the Queen watched from her seat with a pleased smile. A compliment wasted on a woman as useless as her, or so Aurianna thought.

’She’s not even my real mother anyway...’ She scoffed.

Now that pleasantries were out of the way, the party could begin. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Aurianna, a cold smile playing on her lips, approached her father. He stood tall and imposing, flanked by a row of seated princesses and princes, all except Vatium. Husae, Freed, and Zelnu who’s seats were clearly missing.

An empty chair at the end of the row caught Aurianna’s attention. Whether intentional or accidental, the placement was a subtle slight, a suggestion that she, the birthday girl, was lesser than the others.