Muccia entered the room and saw Naiya huddled in the corner, shivering.
âItâs alrightâŠâ Muccia slowly approached her, placing her hand gently on the trembling shoulder.
âWhy didnât you tell him to go away?!â Naiya covered her forehead and leaned against the corner.
âBecause âŠâŠ âMuccia didnât even know what to say to her.
Yeah, why didnât she let the man who reeked of death and blood to leave? Maybe because thereâs a trace of Naiyaâs scent in him. The same scent.
âHeâll expose you. You know what will happen if âtheyâ find out.â
Naiya closed her eyes tightly. âYouâre a Saint, Muccia! A Saint who fled from the Court of Gods! But now youâve fallen from grace, theyâll kill you if they find out. I donât understand why a Godly being would fall from the sky that could look down on mankindâŠâ
Going from God to mortal sounds very foolish, indeed.
Muccia stroked Naiyaâs raven hair softly. âBecause if I donât leave that golden cage, I wonât be able to meet youâŠâ
There was a scarlet scar on Mucciaâs tender arm. A bite scar, left by the young girl in front of her the first time they met.
Or she should call the scars left by a monster that only knew how to kill. The monster was standing on top of the hill of rotten corpses in the village, surrounded by fire and blood, frantically laughing.
It was her first encounter with Naiya.
She smiled at the girl who tried to rip off her wrist. Stroking the head of the girl, just like what she was doing now. Sinking the fear in her heart.
âBut, Iâm a monsterâŠâ
âBut arenât you a good girl now?â Muccia held Naiyaâs trembling shoulders. âYou saved those kids, you saved a life. Thereâs a lot of things you can do if you donât use violence.â
âButâŠâ Leaning into Muccia arms, â Naiya sensed something wrong.
âTheyâreâŠcomingâ, Naiya choked. She sat upright, holding the dagger with her hand. âThe Court of Gods had come here! Theyâve surrounded the village!â
The glow on the daggerâs sharp edge bloomed with red, Naiyaâs eyes shifted to red.
But Muccia grasped her hand that was holding the dagger. âWhat did I say? No violence allowedâŠâ
âBut theyâre coming to kill you!â Naiya sensed a strong murderous aura and tried to explain to the foolish woman how serious the situation was.
But her gentle smile dissipated all the anger in Naiyaâs heartâŠ
âItâs okay⊠Itâs okay, Naiya.â After patting the dust off her body, Muccia stood up and pushed Naiyaâs body into a corner. Holding her hand. âYouâre all grown up now. You donât need me anymore. So stay here and take care of the kids for me, will you?â
Muccia was going to accept her fate, the fate of a fallen God.
The Saint who escaped from the Court of Gods, the Fallen OneâŠ
Without the Court of Godsâ restraint, the Saintâs power was too Godly for the mortal world. They can wreak havoc upon the world.
There were several cases of Saints with twisted minds, desired to flee from the Court of Gods and come to the world.
All the cities were destroyed in bloodshed because no power on earth could restraint them. They were free to do whatever they wanted.
Hence, the high Saints, who once crowned with the title âFallen,â were feared and loathed by the humans of this world.
Just like the witches of the Middle Ages, only by giving the Fallen Ones capital punishment could ease the crowdâs anger.
âMuccia, the first time I met you years ago, you were an idiot! After all these years, youâre still an idiot! You couldâve escaped with your power! But why wouldnât you?!â
As a Saint, she was fully capable of crushing that monster that bit her arm. But she didnât. Instead, she raised the creature.
âBecause thatâs the fate of a SaintâŠâ Muccia waved her hand, and Naiya found herself frozen. She couldnât move and couldnât speak.
After carrying Naiya to the soft bed, Muccia covered her in a warm blanket.
âSleep, itâs just a dream. When you wake up, youâll forget me.â
â!!!â Naiya struggled, but she was bound by an inexplicable power. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldnât move. All she can do was watching Muccia walk out of the door.
âŠâŠâŠâŠ..
Crossing the hallway, Muccia met the children who ran together to their room for a nap.
Usually, she would tell them they wonât get taller if they didnât take a nap, and so on.
âIs Miss Muccia going to tell us a bedtime story?â They were full of hope when they saw her approaching.
âThatâs for nighttime rest. But tonight, it will be Naiya, who will tell your bedtime story.â
âUmâŠâ
As Muccia walked them to their room, she closed the door. Stunned.
Gently caressing her hand over the edges of this buildingâs hallway, Muccia finally reached the front doorâŠ
âŠâŠâŠâŠ
The dark clouds gathering in the sky were pitch black as if they were about to collapse.
Pushing the front door open, there was a scene in contrast with the small building.
A legion of knights stood on alert. Donned in silvery-white armor with the head of a roaring dragon tattooed on their shoulders, they were the Empireâs Knight.
The commander stepped out from the line.
âAbandoning the identity as a Saint and descending to play a silly game with the mortals is the highest treason! Muccia Dodran, in the name of the Dragon God, youâre under arrest!â
âDoes it feel good to be a caged bird?â
Muccia shook her head.
The rain had started to fall from the sky.
Take care, Naiya.
Looking at the sky, not just the cloud-shrouded the sky, but also the dark shadows looming on top of the church.
PleaseâŠ
Muccia didnât know to whom she was pleading.
A pair of scarlet eyes watched the scene from the start to the end.