So I'm a Dragon, So What? - Game System [85]

Emilia’s mind raced.

With the enhancements from [Wisdom] and [Intellect], her thought processes and calculation speeds had increased dramatically. 

This was one of the first things Lady Shiraori had taught her about combat: raw power could break many things, but more often than not, battles were won and lost through cunning and strategy. 

This mental boost also sharpened her reflexes.

The moment she sensed the wrongness in the air, she dropped the frozen carcasses of her prey. 

Ice-cold magic began to coalesce in her hands as she braced herself for the coming danger. She didn't know why they hadn't killed her outright, but she could use that to her advantage. 

They want something from me. That means I have value. 

That value was her bargaining chip, her shield. It could buy her time.

With the kind of power Lord Elliot and Lady Shiraori possessed, they would surely notice if she went missing. They would come for her. All she had to do was survive until then.

As if sensing her vigilance, the very air seemed to shimmer and tear. With a ripple of distorted space, a dozen figures in dark robes materialized in the trees around her. 

They wore capes that looked like the star-strewn night sky, and from beneath their hoods, the sharp, tapered points of their ears were visible.

Elves!

The moment they appeared, all of them dropped to one knee, bowing their heads before Emilia with an air of absolute reverence and piety.

"The earth has been stained by blood, and the starlight has been dimmed by dust, but the glory of the elves will never be extinguished," one of them intoned, his voice echoing in the unnatural silence. 

"Your Highness, the Saintess! We, the humble servants of the Divine Religion, have come to welcome your return!"

As one, they threw back their hoods and removed their masks, revealing the classically beautiful faces and piercing blue eyes of pureblood elves. 

Their lineage was, by their own twisted standards, a thousand times nobler than Emilia’s. Yet here they were, these purebloods, kneeling in worship before her, a half-blood.

If this had happened a year ago, back when she was still scrounging for moss in the Corrupted Forest, such a display would have overwhelmed her. But today, Emilia felt no joy, no shock, nothing but a cold, rising wave of nausea.

Just when I decided to live my own life, you people show up again, like ghosts that refuse to move on!

As for being a "Saintess," she couldn't care less. What did it matter if they welcomed her back? What did it matter if she became their holy figure? Her heart already belonged to others; there was no room for anything else!

"I'm not a Saintess," Emilia said, her brow furrowed. "I'm just a half-elf. You're looking for the wrong person."

But their expressions remained firm, their belief unshakable. They simply didn't believe her. She had been chosen by the great Pontiff Gyazo himself. The Pontiff's word could not be wrong.

The lead elf shook his head, his tone condescendingly gentle, like a royal guard placating a stubborn princess. 

"No, Your Highness. Your purity is absolute. Though your flawless jade has been covered in dust, it only needs to be wiped clean to reveal its true luster. Please, Your Highness, come back with us."

Emilia felt something inside her begin to crack. Her bloodline… hadn't they always considered it lowly, tainted, and weak? Why would they choose her to be their Saintess?

"I told you, I'm not your Saintess! Now get out of my way!" Emilia’s temper, usually so mild, flared with unexpected ferocity.

It was strange. For years, she had cowered before every pureblood elf. She wouldn't even dare to meet their gaze, lest she earn a beating. 

They had belittled her, bullied her physically, and torn her down mentally until she almost believed them. 

She had thought herself filthy, ugly, and despicable, the lowest creature in the world. Her beauty mark, in her own eyes, had been her greatest shame.

But then he had come. That lord had told her that her mark wasn't a flaw. He'd called it the "finishing touch on a masterpiece," a part of her unique beauty that no one else could replicate. 

His words had given her back her confidence, her self-worth.

And now, the very same elves who had scorned and abused her had come crawling back, calling her a "Saintess," wanting to take her back to their village. The irony was so thick it was suffocating.

Take me back to the Village of the Elves? Make me your untouchable Saintess? Does that just erase all the years of torment? The humiliation, the pain, the beatings… do they all just disappear?

To hell with that!

An instinctual fear of pureblood elves still lingered deep within her, a fear that wouldn't vanish overnight. 

But the confidence and courage Lord Elliot had given her allowed her to stand tall and face them. She no longer believed in the nonsense of bloodline purity. 

As Lady Shiraori would say, the noblest races in the world all ended up in her stomach just the same. 

There was no such thing as a "noble" bloodline. When your fist was big enough, everyone would acknowledge your status and praise your lineage!

Hearing Emilia’s defiant shout, the strongest of the elves, a man named Reinhardt, simply shook his head. His expression remained pious, his tone as gentle as if speaking to a pouting little sister.

"It seems Your Highness's mind has been tainted by outsiders. But do not worry. Once you return to the Holy Faith, the Bishop himself will cleanse the impurities from your thoughts and help you awaken your true self.”

“As for the outsiders who defiled our Saintess, the Divine Religion will eliminate them all! If we cannot cleanse the stains from Your Highness, then even a hundred deaths would not be enough to atone for our failure."

"Please rest assured, Your Highness," he continued, his voice chillingly calm. "Several of our priests and bishops have already been dispatched to intercept those transgressors. They will all die where they stand!"

His casual tone made Emilia's blood run cold. The Divine Religion had no reverence for life. They treated their own lives with the same detached indifference. 

To live was great, to die was glorious. Naturally, they feared nothing and no one.

Hearing his words, Emilia's face paled. They were going after her friends! With their methods, and the element of surprise, they could pose a real threat to Elliot and Shiraori.