CHAPTER 10.5: THE TRUE ENEMY

***The Holy Palatial Gardens***

The stillness of the Human Saint’s official residence was disturbed when the Saint of the Flame returned from her journey in Cherflammen.

“Where’s the Lady Rubinforth?” she demanded as the paladins and maidservants rushed to her side, ostensibly to help her carry the unconscious and severely injured Saint of Darkness. “Call her here right now!”

Soon enough, the Human Saint appeared before Seirna, along with the Beastman Saint, having teleported from her room. Upon seeing the condition of Alexa, or Natasha Bellingsen, she asked, “What happened to her?”

“I don’t know,” the Saint of the Flame said. “When I came to her tower, I saw it destroyed. Can you heal her?”

“We’ll see…” Maddie took her friend’s limp hands and used her god-powers. The white glow from her soon enveloped Natasha’s body, and a few moments later, the injuries vanished. The Saint of Darkness looked as if she was just sleeping.

The Beastman Saint then took the Demon Saint from Seirna’s arms and carried her to a spare room that Maddie ordered her servants to prepare.

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When Natasha opened her eyes, the words that immediately came out of her lips were, “Is this heaven?”

“Sadly, no,” the Saint of the Flame, who was sitting at her bedside, answered. “You’re still with us. I can’t let you die after all.”

The Demon Saint, still out of herself, sat up and looked around, “Where am I?”

“The Holy Palatial Gardens. I brought you here after I found you in the ruins of your tower in the demon realm. Your best friends, the Lady Rubinforth healed you, and the Lady Ruro carried you to this room.”

“Uh…where are they?”

“The Lady Madelaine is in her chamber, taking a rest. In a few hours, she would visit the demon ambassador’s residence to check on the otherworlder. I think the doggie saint is outside, running around to release some tension. She’s been pretty stressed out lately as well.”

Natasha was silent for a while, seemed thinking of the events that led her to this place. And then, when she finally remembered, “Damn it! Where’s my sword? I need to go back to Cherflammen! Sir G is in big trouble!”

“Hold your horses, Cass!” Seirna countered. “I need to know what happened to you. What’s this I’m seeing in your mind about a fight with the Lord Gaius?”

The Demon Saint quickly blocked the Saint of the Flame’s access to her thoughts. She told her, “You have no right to peek in my mind, Seirna! In the first place, you’re working with my enemy!”

“No, no! Let’s be clear about this,” she answered. “The Lord Gaius entrusted me the safety of this world, and of the four realms. While it’s true that my loyalties lie with him, I can’t ignore the fact that…he fought against you to sabotage our efforts?”

Natasha stared at her. “I told you before, right?” then, she opened her memories to her colleague. “Gaius is only motivated by his ambitions, that’s why I—as Cassandra David—removed him as the god of Chersea and of the four realms. Now, you’re playing right into the palm of his hands again, for he never truly cared about the peoples of these worlds…he only wanted to return to his place in heaven.”

“But…” there was a grim realization on Seirna’s face. “…he even offered me helpful guidance in fighting the Seductress!”

“Of course, he would,” the Demon Saint said. “He’s the one pulling the strings behind all the conflicts Chersea and the four realms are suffering from right now, after all.”

“H-How…How can you say that?”

“Think about it, Seirna. Gaius nowadays is just a mere mortal, though there remained a few vestiges of his godhood with him, like his magic, the ability to maintain his ‘own space’ and travel ‘between’ the worlds. You and I know the powers he lost: his ability to peer into our thoughts, his god-powers—now shared with the six of us saints, and his place among the deities of heaven. How can he know exactly what you guys are doing, or going to do? In my old world, there’s a term for that: ‘schemes’.

“Are you saying the Lord Gaius is a traitor to the humans?”

“Not exactly, for his loyalty is only to himself. And that two-faced bastard wanted to reclaim his lost godhood by popular acclaim!”

“I…I don’t understand…”

“Oh, I know you do,” Natasha had a sarcastic grin on her face. “You’re just trying to deny the fact that you let him fool you for ages! I’m sure, because of your blind loyalty to your ‘god’, you didn’t even dare to peek inside his heart! Let me tell you how he is planning to return to being a god. When he learned that the Human Saint is the ‘daughter’ of his former wife, ‘Arame’—also known as the ‘Seductress’—he endeavored to have her ‘lose’ her sanity, in order to bring forth ‘Arame’ that was hidden inside the Lady Madelaine. And you know who’s keeping my friend’s sanity stable…”

“That otherworlder…your former teacher!”

The Demon Saint nodded, “If Sir G died, then Lady Madelaine would fall in despair, and the ‘Seductress’ would have an easy time—not only to enter this universe, which she already did, but also grab one of the god-powers to make her even more powerful.”

“That’s the god-power of healing, right?”

“Imagine of how close that monster is from attaining that…all because a former god wanted to become the ‘hero’ and receive the people’s acclaim to return to his godhood. Problem is, Gaius has no idea of who he is playing with; the Seductress, an ancient evil from the Void that even the High King of the Gods is alarmed. That’s why He cut short of my punishment.”

The Saint of the Flame couldn’t hide the dismay on her face. “And I…shit…I don’t know. He’s been using me for his selfish goals!”

“Took you long enough,” Natasha laughed. “And I mean, waaaaaay too long…that’s why I never trusted that man in the first place!”

“Those are heavy accusations, Cass! How did you know all of this and have done nothing?”

“Simple. While I looked into Gaius’ intentions to know his moves, I accidentally peered into his mind while we’re fighting, that’s why I got my ass kicked. After all, I’m dealing against a true Roman soldier—I can’t possibly focus my attention on both peeking through his thoughts and parrying his attacks!” the Demon Saint chuckled. “If you’re still having doubts on my words, from now on, you can always look inside my mind. It’ll help us deal with the situation faster, more than just relying on the instructions of a two-faced bastard of a former god who only thinks for himself.”

Silence then took over, as the reality sunk in Seirna’s mind. Then, she stood up, and chanted a spell that brought out her sword.

Natasha asked her, “Where are you going?”

“Read my mind.”

So the Demon Saint did as she was told. After a few moments, Natasha smiled and said to her, “Nice. But it would even be nicer if you brought me along, Seirna. After all, two Chersean swords are better than one Roman gladius, don’t you think?”