◈24. The Seventh Main Oracle
The warden’s ominous words lingered in the air as we arrived at the deepest level of the underground prison.
He came to a firm stop at the entrance of the lowest corridor.
“This is the place. Just walk straight down this passage. Keep the prison key safe, and return it to me once you’ve finished your meeting.”
After sending him away, I was left alone.
Alone, staring into the endless black void of the corridor.
It was at the very end of this passage, in the last prison cell, that they were being held.
I took a step forward.
Then another.
The sound of my boots echoed against the stone floor as I moved deeper into the suffocating darkness.
Five minutes passed in silence.
Then, finally—I arrived at my destination.
“Are you there?”
The inside of the cell was pitch-black, swallowed by complete darkness.
I couldn’t see anything.
I couldn’t hear anything.
Still, I asked again.
“Are you alive? Why aren’t you answering?”
Even after my second question, only silence followed.
A creeping sense of unease washed over me.
My fists clenched instinctively.
“You guys… Don’t tell me you’re—”
“Krrkk…”
A deep, guttural sound—like an animal’s growl—rumbled from within the darkness.
The first sound to emerge from that void.
A warning.
A threat.
But to me—
It felt like something else entirely.
“…….”
A sudden weight pressed down on my shoulders.
A guilt I hadn’t expected to feel.
I bit my lip, hard.
Perhaps it was because I could finally see them now.
Two demons, clinging to each other like cornered prey.
Desperately shielding one another.
The weight of that sight settled heavily in my chest.
Then—
From those two pairs of cat-like, gleaming eyes, one of them suddenly flared with killing intent.
“KYAAAAH!!”
In an instant, it lunged at me.
It was the incubus.
BANG!
Of course, it was stopped—slamming into the iron bars of the cell.
Sparks crackled where its body met the prison’s enchanted metal.
Even so, it did not stop.
Though it could not get through, it continued reaching for me, clawing at the air with bared fangs.
‘Judging by its state… its mind still hasn’t returned. If I wanted to ask them about the Forgotten, I needed to bring them back to their senses first.’
But their condition—
It hadn’t improved at all.
No—
It had gotten worse.
The iron bars weren’t ordinary.
They were imbued with magic, constantly channeling electric currents through them.
Because of that, the incubus’ skin was already burned raw.
And yet—
It showed no sign of pain.
Or maybe it did feel pain and simply didn’t care.
It remained pressed against the bars, its gaze locked onto me with nothing but hostility.
“…Tsk.”
Clicking my tongue, I took a step back.
I couldn’t let its injuries get any worse.
Seeing me withdraw, the incubus finally backed away as well, retreating to its younger sibling.
‘Treating them from outside the cell isn’t going to work. I’ll have to go in.’
To apply the potion, I needed to get close.
But with the electrified bars, I couldn’t even reach them.
I had already made up my mind before coming here.
That’s why I had taken the key with me.
The moment I decided to step inside, I activated a skill.
[The Domain of Holy Inviolability has been summoned beneath your feet. All creatures within this domain shall be protected by sacred power.]
—Duration: 2 hours.
A brilliant light flooded the dark prison.
The moment my skill activated—
The expected reaction came.
“KYAAGH!!”
“Krrk!”
They recoiled, shielding their eyes as they scurried into the farthest corner of the cell.
It wasn’t just the sudden brightness that startled them—demons naturally despised divine power, as it was fundamentally opposed to their own.
And in their current, primal state, their instincts would tell them to flee above all else.
CLANK!
Taking advantage of their retreat, I quickly unlocked the cell door.
Then, without hesitation, I slipped inside and locked it behind me.
I had moved fast enough to prevent them from escaping, securing myself within before they could react.
‘They’re just going to keep running away at this rate… I should turn off my skill.’
But before that—
I reached into my inventory and pulled out an F-rank thermal blanket I always carried for emergencies.
I wrapped it thickly around my forearm, securing it tightly.
I had seen trainers do something similar when handling attack dogs—wrapping their arms in protective gear.
‘This should be enough to dull the pain if I get bitten… probably.’
Once I felt adequately prepared, I finally deactivated「Holy Inviolability Pact (S)」.
“KYAAAH!!”
The instant my divine energy disappeared; the incubus lunged at me.
I timed it perfectly, extending my blanket-wrapped arm forward—
—And as expected, the incubus sank its fangs into it.
There was no hesitation.
No attempt to dodge.
No effort to strike a different, unguarded part of my body.
Like a mindless beast, it simply bit down on what was offered.
‘It hurts… but not unbearably. Would’ve been better with leather padding, though.’
It wasn’t as bad as last time when he bit me with his magic-infused strength, so it was manageable.
Seizing the opportunity, I uncapped a potion with my free hand—
—And splashed it directly onto its torn wing.
‘It’s working.’
The damage was too severe for an instant recovery, but I could visibly see the torn wing stitching itself back together.
Just as I was about to treat other parts of his body after roughly healing his wing—
“KRRK!!”
—Pain.
The succubus, who had been quiet and whom I had momentarily forgotten, suddenly lunged and sank her teeth into my other arm.
“…Ugh.”
I hadn’t wrapped my other arm, her fangs pierced straight through my flesh.
Her long, razor-sharp fangs pierced clean through my flesh, embedding deep into my forearm.
The pain wasn’t unbearable, but it burned—a sharp, throbbing ache.
‘…Fine. Just stay still.’
Even though it hurt, having my arm bitten kept her from thrashing around.
Taking advantage of the situation, I poured potion after potion over both demons clinging to me like doctor fish.
‘That should do it!’
Then, in one swift motion, I surged my divine power.
The moment my divine energy flared, both demons instantly released their grip on me, hissing in discomfort.
And that was my cue—
I bolted out of the cell, locking it shut behind me.
“Phew…”
I let out a slow exhale.
Mission complete.
I had successfully treated them.
The incubus’ wings were nearly healed, and the succubus’ condition had significantly improved.
Though now I was the one who needed treatment…
Not a big deal.
A mid-grade potion would be enough to fix my wounds.
“…….”
I glanced back at them.
They remained huddled in the corner, still curled up like frightened animals.
That heavy, sinking feeling returned.
After a brief pause, I spoke.
“I know this looks like I broke you just to fix you again, but don’t blame me. You were the ones who tried to kill me first.”
Of course, there was no response.
Not that I expected one.
Still, I continued speaking.
Because if I didn’t, the discomfort gnawing at my chest wouldn’t go away.
“If you had at least explained the situation properly, things wouldn’t have escalated this far. Then again… even if you had, you still attacked me. So, I guess we would’ve fought either way.”
“KRRK!”
“KYAAAH!”
They screeched at me in clear protest.
Do they understand what I’m saying…?
They still looked at me with the wariness of wild animals.
I decided to end the conversation there.
“In any case, once you’ve recovered and regained your senses, tell me properly what you know.”
“KRRKK!”
“After that, we’ll put our heads together and figure something out. There has to be a better solution than me dying or you dying—something that isn’t so extreme.”
Leaving those words behind, I turned away.
I thought venting a little would ease my frustration, but for some reason, my steps felt even heavier than when I had arrived.
Before leaving, I glanced back at them one last time.
Then, slowly making my way out of the underground prison.
Even after leaving the underground, I didn’t get much time to rest.
All because of the Elixir.
The moment word spread that the Elixir had been recreated, the entire church was thrown into chaos.
It wasn’t just the church.
Even nobles, normally too busy to visit in person, flocked to the cathedral in a frenzy, all scrambling to place orders.
How did they hear the news so quickly……?
Thanks to this, the church’s coffers were filling up by the day, and its influence was growing stronger than ever.
It’s a bit embarrassing to say this myself, but objectively speaking, this was a remarkable achievement.
But no matter how significant the accomplishment, there would always be people who refused to acknowledge it.
Just like the priests gossiping about me right now.
“Doesn’t the Pope seem a bit suspicious?”
“Not just a bit—a lot. How on earth did he suddenly recreate a potion that disappeared over a century ago?”
“Maybe he’s spreading rumors to secure his position. I mean, let’s be real—none of us have actually seen the Elixir, right? It’s all just hearsay.”
They probably thought they were whispering.
But high-level Awakeners had enhanced senses, including hearing.
So, their little ‘secret’ conversation was, of course, heard by Luciana.
Her jaw clenched audibly.
“Those idiots…!”
It looked like she was about to march over and tear into them, so I stepped in her path.
“Leave them be.”
“…But they’re tarnishing Your Holiness’ achievement with baseless suspicion. If we don’t put a stop to this, they’ll keep slandering you.”
“Can you really blame them? Like they said—none of the ordinary priests have even seen the Elixir yet.”
The ingredients were rarer than expected.
Even with money, some components were nearly impossible to acquire.
That meant that, at most, one Elixir could be made every three or four days.
So naturally, the ordinary priest hadn’t even caught a glimpse of it yet.
“Let’s be understanding. Besides, we have somewhere urgent to be right now. Let’s hurry.”
With those words, I put on the gentle, benevolent smile befitting a Pope.
Of course—
That was just to hide my true thoughts.
Luciana, who had no idea what was going on in my head, bit her lip in frustration.
But in the end, she simply climbed onto her horse.
Even as she mounted, her glare was still fixed on the gossiping priests.
I had to urge her to go ahead before she finally rode off.
Only after she was gone did I turn my attention to the priests.
‘Just because I understand their feelings… doesn’t mean I’ll forgive them.’
I got why they were suspicious.
But that didn’t mean I had to let them get away with it.
So—
While no one was watching, I casually rolled a small item across the floor.
A transparent bead-like item rolled from my hand and came to a stop—
—right at the feet of the gossiping priests.
And then—
[The item 「A Condemned Prisoner’s Sincere Tears」 is affecting all individuals within a 1-meter radius!]
The item activated successfully.
This was a reward item I had received upon completing the Sixth Oracle.
「A Condemned Prisoner’s Sincere Tears」
An item that forced its targets to speak only the truth for half a day.
In other words—
A mental manipulation tool that worked similarly to a truth serum.
Sure enough—
The conversation among the priests immediately shifted.
“Honestly… I do know the Pope really recreated the Elixir. A friend in the apothecary told me. But since you guys were badmouthing him, I just went along with it.”
“Ah… Same here. I knew the rumors were true, but I pretended not to know. He’s a big shot—so it only seems fair that people talk behind his back, right?”
Ah.
There it was.
Their true thoughts.
“Yeah, especially since just looking at that handsome face of his makes me sick with jealousy. Unlike yours, which is so crushed and ugly that it’s actually comforting to look at.”
With the item’s effect preventing them from lying, they began spilling every last ugly truth they had been keeping hidden.
They didn’t even seem to realize how strange their behavior was—which meant they were about to have a very rough time for the next few hours.
‘Yeah, that’s right. No more gossiping behind my back—if you’ve got something to say, say it to my face.’
Listening to their voices rising in heated arguments, I contentedly climbed into the carriage.
The door shut behind me, and soon, the carriage began to move—
—heading toward a special destination, as instructed by my newly received Seventh Main Oracle.
About an hour into the journey—
Someone shook me awake from my light nap.
It was Rubin, who had somehow summoned himself from my bracelet.
“Nike, wake up. The coachman says we’ll be arriving soon.”
“…Yeah?”
Rubbing my eyes, I peered out the window.
The scenery outside the carriage window was gloomier than what I was used to seeing.
Small, shabby buildings, fences with peeling paint, and people marked by poverty…
In short, this was a slum.
And at the heart of this slum was my destination—
The ‘Belter Orphanage’, where I needed to go to complete the Seventh Main Oracle.
“So, this Belter Orphanage or whatever… Can I ask why exactly we’re going there?”
Rubin plopped himself onto my lap as he spoke.
I felt a sudden urge to mess with him—
So, I flashed him a radiant smile and said,
“For volunteer work.”
“No, not that. I meant the real reason.”
…Damn.
Rubin had gotten sharp.
He had already figured out that I wasn’t the kind of person to voluntarily go do charity work.
Realizing there was no point in hiding it, I came clean.
“I received a new Oracle. Apparently, there’s someone at the orphanage who desperately needs my help.”
As I recalled the details of the Oracle, I continued.
“So, I’m heading there to help this poor child… and complete my Seventh Main Oracle while I’m at it.”
“Ahh, so it’s another Oracle? But… a child who needs your help?”
Like a curious puppy, Rubin tilted his head before asking—
“Who is it?”
