The Evil God Summoned by the Saintess-Chapter 57 - 55: More Traitors Like This, Please

"Thank you."

The sudden two words made Hilia pause for a moment.

"You know who I am?"

"I know."

When Meteor Fire Rain wiped out a crowd of heretics, Hilia wasn’t surprised. When Headmaster Blake flattened a mountain, she wasn’t surprised, either.

Because she knew those things, though shocking and terrifying, were still within the bounds of normal.

But now, she was truly shocked.

Hilia immediately asked Rose, "Mr. Rose, didn’t you say your disguise was unbeatable? How did a Tier One Mage see through it?"

Rose replied blandly, "If he saw through it, I’ll eat the Sea Siren’s Eye."

Before Hilia could continue, Eric said, "There was a strong tremor and explosive sound coming from the Mutual Aid Association base, then a flying orb came over. You were told to stay put. Your appearance, figure, gender all changed, but your habits didn’t."

Hilia’s mind slowly sprouted a question mark.

"?"

Rose chuckled, "You may look just like his little brother, but as family, that kid is well aware of his brother’s quirks. He already saw you weren’t him."

"Huh? Then why didn’t you tell me..."

"Why would I? It’s much more interesting this way."

"..." Hilia.

Eric didn’t know Hilia was talking to an Evil God in her head. Seeing her silent, he went on, "I grew up with my little brother. We went to school together, learned magic together from Miss Marina, but his talent wasn’t as good as mine. He studied for ages and couldn’t even meditate—"

While Hilia was fiercely debating Rose in her mind, Eric sank into memory, slowly recounting pieces of the past with his brother.

Like a game where you can’t skip the cutscenes, Hilia chose "auto-play," then went off to chat with someone else.

Of course, after Hilia finished her conversation with Rose, a "skip scene" option appeared.

She reached out to interrupt Eric’s reminiscence. "Enough. I know you want to say that I’m nothing like your real brother. Skip all that nonsense. Just tell me—how did you know I was fake, yet still invited me to the Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association base, and even took me into the heart of the ritual hall?"

"At first, I thought that was the organization I was looking for—the one that funded our village—so I joined up.

"By the time I realized it wasn’t, I was already corrupted by what they called ’power of the deep sea.’ There was no going back.

"I chose to work hard in the Mutual Aid Association and earn money, but they wouldn’t let me send cash back to my family. I could only send goods."

Here, Eric’s expression twisted: "But then, they contaminated everything I sent home with deep sea power, and even dumped deep sea power into Lake Beia!

"But by the time I found out, it was too late. My father, my mother, and my brother were all tainted. All I could do was keep sending them stuff, or they’d die from lack of deep sea power."

Hilia frowned. "The ’deep sea power’ you’re talking about doesn’t work that way. The more you touch it, the more polluted you get, and the easier you die.

"If they’ve been polluted by ’deep sea power,’ you should go to the Holy Court for purification, not assume it’s some addictive drug you need to keep using to stay safe."

"I didn’t know," Eric shook his head. "So, when you showed up and I realized you weren’t really my brother, but had the bracelet I gave him, I knew something bad had happened to him. That’s why I agreed to take you to that base."

"He was killed by those white mutant fish you guys from the Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association unleashed in Lake Beia. Those fish love to eat people polluted by that so-called ’deep sea power.’ By sending that contaminated stuff to your family, you were just turning them into food for the white fish whenever the time came."

Hilia dealt him a brutal blow.

Eric shuddered, "So that’s it... so that’s it..."

Seeing him grow delirious, Hilia sighed, "You’re already so thoroughly tainted, not even a Holy Master from the Holy Court could save you now—you’ve got, at most, three months."

Eric returned to his senses, a look of acceptance on his face: "I expected as much. Thank you for killing those bastards. At least those innocents dragged in with me are freed now."

Hilia had no intention of sympathizing: "If you knew you’d fallen into a den of monsters, you should have reported to the Holy Court sooner, instead of waiting till nothing could be salvaged to have a sudden change of heart."

"I..."

Eric tried to say something, but the words stuck in his throat.

"I’ve already purified the corruption from your parents. Get ready—you’re coming to the Holy Court with me to atone."

Hilia pulled out her magic staff, ready to cast the Holy Word Spell on him.

Eric quickly said, "Wait—ahead of my atonement, can I do one thing? Just one last thing."

"What is it?" Hilia turned her head.

"I want to go back to Beia Village, see my parents, and visit my brother’s grave."

"Sure, small matter."

"But—since I spilled secrets, Shark will know. He won’t let me live. Chances are I won’t make it home. Can you protect me?"

"Shark? The leader of your base?" Hilia’s interest piqued instantly.

Back at the base, she’d heard from the knights—this base wasn’t just well-hidden; the leader was a slippery bastard. Even with a Holy Court Archbishop present, they hadn’t caught him.

This time, luck must’ve been on her side; the base wanted info about Lake Beia and sent the local to collect samples of the white mutant fish. That just happened to give Hilia the perfect chance.

Probably because ’Shark’ wasn’t around, things went so smoothly.

This heretic leader, when the base was attacked, destroyed the array and wiped out everything at the site without hesitation.

Ruthless as hell.

If only they could catch him...

As soon as this thought came up, Hilia quickly put it down.

Shark was most likely a Tier Four Mage.

It might end up the other way around.

But no problem; if I can’t win, I’ll call for backup!

So Hilia immediately contacted Alina. The reply was quick—hell, even the headmaster wanted to join the ambush.

But to avoid alerting their target, they wouldn’t appear in the open, just follow in secret.

However, Alina soon raised a question: "Ask him: How can he guarantee that the one they send to kill him will be Shark?"

Hilia relayed the question to Eric. Eric snorted, "Because I know the location of another base. There’s no way he’d let me take you there."

"Oh? Then tell us where the other base is."

Eric shook his head. "Useless—it’s hidden deep in the mountains. You could search inch by inch and never find it. But I can take you."

"Fine, lead the way!"

"No problem, but—I want to go home first."

"You can go whenever, but clearing out the base is urgent. The sooner it’s done, the better your shot at redemption. Who knows, maybe a priest will extend your life."

"With all this, what do I have left to live for? I just want to see my family one more time."

"Then lead the way first. Otherwise, you won’t see your family, either."

"Uh... all right. Follow me."