※ There’s a prologue before this but it’s exactly the same as this chapter so I removed it.

1

The holy land was invaded.

Kabir’s great army broke the peace treaty and attacked the holy land. The promise that had been kept since the beginning of history was shattered in a single day, and the holy land of Irensia was trampled.

The guards defending the temple were all slaughtered by the Kabir soldiers who rushed in like a tidal wave.

It could hardly be called a battle. Though all the Kabir soldiers were brave, the most ruthless among them was the Emperor of Kabir who stood at the front of the battle.

The Kabir Emperor, who personally came to desecrate the temple, butchered the temple guards.

His martial prowess was remarkable. With each swing of his sword, guards were either brutally killed or fell with wounds to some part of their bodies.

Eventually, the terrified guards threw down their swords and fled.

After what was nearly a massacre, the Kabir Emperor entered the temple’s courtyard covered in the blood of the guards.

He looked like a monster thirsting for blood.

“Aaargh!”

A guard who bravely lunged at the Kabir Emperor was stabbed by his sword and sent flying. The Emperor glanced down at the soldier thrown against a temple pillar, then strode into the building.

He had no particular desire to kill.

His goal was not sl*ughter but simply to take the saintess away, so he intended to let the guards escape if they didn’t interfere.

“The vanguard has reached the central courtyard!”

A scout who had been sent ahead returned, kneeling before the Kabir Emperor to report. The guards who had been protecting the temple’s exterior had already been killed or had fled, but there would still be people inside the building.

‘They’ll risk their lives to protect the saintess.’

Now came the crucial part.

The Kabir Emperor quickly entered the central courtyard, leaping over corpses. There too lay the bodies of temple guards who had resisted the Kabir army until the very end.

The saintess would be in the sacred tower, located at the highest point of the temple beyond this courtyard. And trembling slaves and handmaidens would be standing there with pathetic spears and swords, trying to protect the saintess.

“Kuk.”

With a sneer, the Kabir Emperor called out.

“Soldiers of Kabir, listen!”

The Kabir soldiers who were preparing to ascend to the sacred tower turned their attention to the Emperor’s command.

“From now on, you must not kill anyone. You may kill those who block your way to the temple. But do not let anyone die before the saintess’s eyes!”

The Emperor emphasized the last words with his voice filled with inner force.

“Anyone who causes the saintess to use her holy power will be dragged out and executed!”

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

Beyond the temple’s central courtyard and up several floors was the sacred tower where the saintess resided.

That place, always filled with sacred silence, was today filled with sounds of fear.

“Take the saintess to safety!”

Now that the temple guards had all been defeated, only temple slaves and fragile handmaidens remained in the sacred tower.

But the saintess was someone who had to be protected at all costs, so they surrounded her with trembling hands holding swords and spears as thin as tree branches.

“The saintess must be protected no matter what. Take her to safety, even if it costs your lives!”

The head handmaiden shouted with determination. But where was safety in this tower with no escape route? Though no one said it aloud, they were all gripped by despair.

“That won’t be necessary.”

The woman sitting in the middle of the group rose and spoke.

She was beautiful. Her light blonde hair and green eyes were as vivid as emeralds, and her skin, pale from growing up in the temple without seeing sunlight, was as white as the snow on the Ayabal Mountains in the northern part of the continent.

Saintess Anel.

The last trace of God remaining in this world.

Perhaps due to divine blessing, she was a woman of breathtaking beauty.

Just a year ago, when she bloomed as a saintess at the age of twenty, envoys from around the world came to congratulate her. And among them was the current Emperor of Kabir, who had attended as the crown prince.

He fell in love with Saintess Anel at first sight.

“The Emperor won’t kill me. Rather than making meaningless sacrifices, I will go to the Emperor. Please order the guards to flee.”

But the saintess’s command was never delivered to the guards. As a result, they were mercilessly slaughtered by the Kabir army, which then invaded the temple without resistance.

“That cannot be! The saintess cannot become the possession of any one country. The blessing of God must be spread equally throughout the world. That is the sacred promise with God Meta!”

“But we have no choice.”

“We’ve requested help, and the Talasa army will arrive soon. If we can buy time until then… Ah!”

The head handmaiden collapsed before finishing her sentence.

An arrow was lodged in her back. But it was a blunt arrow without a point, so it didn’t penetrate her clothes, only leaving a dull wound before falling away.

The elderly head handmaiden fainted from the pain, and the one who shot the arrow slowly walked into the room where the group was gathered.

“The Kabir Emperor…!”

Those protecting Anel all widened their eyes.

The Demon of Kabir.

Fratricidal killer.

The one who killed his father.

He was known by many names, but none failed to inspire fear.

Though his face was handsome enough to be unforgettable to any woman, right now he looked like a demon straight from h*ll.

He spoke with a crooked smile.

“It’s been a while, Saintess.”

It was shocking. At the same time, the memory of their first meeting at the ceremonial greeting came to mind.

The eyes that had looked up at him like a predatory beast were now gleaming right before her. That dangerous sensation she had felt that day stirred again in Anel’s stomach.

There was no time to waste. But just as Anel was about to summon her holy power, the Kabir Emperor moved a step ahead, taking something from his br*ast and throwing it.

When he tossed a small pouch onto the floor, white smoke-like substance rose from it and quickly filled the room. Everyone who inhaled it began to feel dizzy.

Anel too felt her head spinning and her knees buckling. The holy power instantly retreated within her body as her consciousness began to fade.

“Sleep… poison?”

As Anel looked at the Kabir Emperor one last time, he grinned and answered.

“We already took the antidote before coming in.”

“No….”

As her mind clouded, Anel lost consciousness.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

When Anel awoke, she was in an unfamiliar building.

As she opened her eyes, she immediately saw a ceiling engraved with complex Kabir-style patterns.

Looking around, she saw a colonnade with several pillars, and beyond that colonnade, through the terrace, a gloomy gray sky.

Ominous clouds were piled up as if about to tear apart at any moment. Lightning flashed between the clouds, and Anel was seized with anxiety at the sight.

“Oh Meta…”

“You’d better not call that name.”

Startled by the sudden voice, Anel flinched. Turning her gaze, she saw a chair placed to the right of the bed, with that man sitting on it.

The demon, the patricide. The Emperor of Kabir.

When he slowly examined her body up and down with dangerous eyes, Anel realized that she was lying n*ked on the bed.

Though she was covered with a blanket, her shoulders were completely exposed.

Even her covered body revealed its contours under the thin blanket, so there was no way to prevent the Emperor’s eyes from devouring her entire form.

“No….”

Instinctively, holy power stirred around her body. But when the Emperor spoke, Anel withdrew her power.

“Don’t use your holy power, Anel. Each time you use it, people will die one by one.”

She felt certain he would keep his word. Anel had no choice but to gather the surging power back inside while pulling up the blanket to cover herself.

She was afraid of what he might do.

Why had her clothes been removed, and who had removed them?

She was curious about that too, but at the same time, she had a feeling the Emperor was responsible, which brought a wave of shame and terror.

Just then, the Emperor rose from his seat and slowly approached the bed.

“You’re wondering who removed your clothes, aren’t you?”

Though she didn’t answer, the Emperor, having already guessed her thoughts, chuckled.

“Your skin is very soft. Just as I imagined.”

Startled, Anel buried herself deeper under the sheet.

His gaze now looked more dangerous than when she first met him at the ceremonial greeting. Those eyes, gleaming like those of a hungry beast, seemed to penetrate through the blanket and caress Anel’s body.

“Please let me go, Kabir Emperor.”

Anel pleaded. But he didn’t seem interested in listening.

This had been his goal from the beginning, and now that he finally had the saintess in his hands, he had no intention of letting her go.

“A saintess must remain pure. Holy power must never be defiled.”

“Who says so? That precious God Meta?”

“Emperor!”

“I’ll liberate you. I’ll free you from the pimp who has bound you.”

“Ah!”

Her attempt to escape from the bed was immediately blocked by his thick body. The Emperor pushed Anel down onto the bed and quickly climbed on top of her.