# 31
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“Cough!”
The acrid smell of blood spread into my mouth, as if I had truly fallen.
As soon as I regained consciousness, I felt severe muscle pain striking my entire body.
“Hah…”
However, my body was screaming in pain as my insides were contracting.
“You are crazy! You would boil the bones of a dragon and give them to an ordinary person to eat! Are you conscious?”
I opened my eyes amidst the explosive pain, and saw Dabin and Lloyd on their knees.
“We just wanted to boost her energy...”
In front of them, the Duke and his wife were scolding the twins with faces reddened with anger.
“The internal injuries are very severe. Currently, I am trying to hold on using healing magic, but if the highly concentrated mana in the dragon’s bones leaks into the depths of the organs, it will be beyond my strength.”
The voice of the grandfather, the butler, was heard beside my head.
When I turned my head, I saw a familiar light emanating from under his hand.
Is it a magic cure?
The pain was lessening a little in the parts of my body bathed in light.
The door was pushed forcefully and one of the assistants entered, shouting:
“The high priest of the Church of Tirena has arrived! Priest, this way...!”
If I heal with holy power, the pain will be less.
I made a faint smile as I looked at the clothes of the priests of Tirena.
But I quickly frowned again as the wave of pain returned.
The pain reached its peak to the point that I no longer understood their words clearly.
I was just hearing a noise.
When that sound began to gradually fade, my body began to warm with a bright light.
With that pampering and familiar familiarity, the pain tormenting my body slowly began to fade away.
The upper floor of the great temple of the Church of Tirena in the capital is the private space of the high priest.
High Priest Greo's room, decorated with gold and spacious, was very luxurious and extravagant for a cleric.
The old, white-haired high priest stood on the balcony overlooking the vast views of the capital, and was immersed in a deep internal conflict.
The reason is the message that was sent in a hurry from Duke Hilderius’ palace.
Why was the Duke's Palace requested on this day?
Gryo furrowed his eyebrows.
Because a new messenger suddenly appeared, the temple became a state of chaos.
All this noise in the temple, which was idle, occurred because of the sudden death of the Messenger, who had been steadfast for 75 years.
The chief priests were all quarreling for their own interests over the new messenger.
At the heart of this conflict, there was the High Priest “Grio”.
Originally, he was feeling a headache due to the clash with the Templars and the psychological warfare with the Cardinals.
The matter was made worse by the invasion of Hilderius Palace.
If it had been about an ordinary noble family, he would have definitely refused.
But, it is Hilderius' palace.
Rather, the request came from the Duke's wife, the Princess of the Kingdom of Rovemoire.
All the nobles in the capital know the fact that large quantities of mana stones are extracted from the diamond mine of the Kingdom of Rovomoir.
Moreover, the monster twins of the Duke Family are insanely raising their status through active invasion activities and eliminating monsters roaming the dungeons.
Although the Crown Prince is the candidate for the next emperor, circumstances may change.
The twins have royal blood and the right to inherit the throne.
When Gryo's thinking reached this point, his eyes sparkled with malice.
They wouldn't have summoned me for those monster twins, perhaps the Duke was seriously injured?
It was a golden opportunity to make the Hilderius family indebted to him.
After a long thought, Gryo made his decision.
“I will go to Hilderius’ palace.”
I'll reap the rewards of this trip well, adding the costs of the transfer scrolls as well.
Greo took out a scroll from his desk.
A smile full of greed was drawn on his shining face.
This did not last long.
As soon as he arrived at Hilderius Palace, he heard shocking news.
“What…what are you saying? You gave her a broth made from boiling dragon bones?”
They ask him to treat a patient who is in serious condition due to eating soup made from dragon bones, using sacred power.
Not just any dragon, but a bone dragon.
This is crazy.
What idiot boils the bones of a “bone dragon” and feeds them to humans?
The word “bone dragon” is just a name, but it is in fact a zombie-type monster that moves through evil and dead spirits that attach to the mana remaining in the dragon’s bones.
Once you get close to it, it emits black magical energy and powerful poisons, to the point that even heavily armed knights sometimes lose their lives.
However, they made soup from those bones?
No matter how much I think about it, this is nothing more than an attempt at poisoning.
At least, it was possible to guess who would think of boiling dragon bones to eat them.
They must be those crazy twins.
Everyone in the empire knows who brought the Dragon Heart from Asinta's basement, which was filled with the most dangerous monsters.
Those monsters would digest the dragon even if they swallowed its bones alive.
Although he came quickly using teleportation magic, it took a long time to think after receiving the message.
The patient must be on the verge of death.
Mana and holy power are never compatible.
Moreover, the bones of a dragon which is considered the most powerful magical creature.
No matter how proficient Gryu's Sacred power was, would he be able to remove the highly concentrated mana absorbed into the body?
I wish I had not come, no one can be saved at this level.
Even at the moment he entered the patient's room, Greo was feeling hopeless and wishing he had never taken on this mission.
“The high priest of the Church of Tirena has arrived! Priest, this way!”
The assistant quickly opened the door.
“Servant of God Tirena, Grio, has the honor of seeing His Eminence, Head of the House of Hilderius.”
The place he entered after greeting him was a complete chaos.
The Duke and his wife were extremely angry and shouting, while the twins were on their knees receiving reprimands.
What on earth is going on here?
Gryo quickly analyzed the situation.
On the nearby path, the head butler of the Hilderius family was treating a woman using healing magic.
This must be first aid.
Woman?
All the nobles of the capital know that Lloyd, the heir of Hilderius, suffers from an extreme phobia towards women.
He did not look at any noble's daughter except his own family.
For this reason, stories spread in the capital saying that an old fortune-teller had predicted that the sound of a child crying would never be heard again in the Hilderius family.
However, there is a woman inside this palace.
He must investigate the matter upon his return.
Even simple information may become a winning card in the future.
“Big man, from here.”
The butler, Gryo, called urgently.
“Are you still alive...?”
Amazing. She is still alive, what a stubborn endurance she has.
It was better for her to die quickly so that the pain would be less. While Gryo was thinking about this and examining her face, he was completely stunned.
Is this...human?
A woman of eye-catching beauty, with glowing white hair and skin like marble, as if God had carved her, stitch by stitch.
Her lips pursed in pain, the sweat pouring down her forehead, and her heavy breathing, all proved that she was a human being and not a statue.
When he lowered his gaze, he noticed the glowing red necklace surrounding her neck.
These are “Terrina Tears”?
At that moment, he remembered Mrs. Dabin bragging and provoking him, saying that she had brought him from Asinta's basement.
The temple asked her to hand it over because it was a national treasure, but she absolutely refused and left after angering him.
Who is this woman who wears such a treasure around her neck?
Gryo felt curious about her identity.
At that moment, his eyes met hers, which she opened and were shining red.
White hair and red eyes are a symbol of God's sacred creature in the Church of Tirena.
Seeing this woman immediately made Gryo remember his old friend.
The man who did not age for many years and maintained his dazzling beauty.
He remembered the man who no longer existed in this world because of him, then regained his focus.
Work... Let's start working.
But suddenly she looked at him and smiled lightly.
Have you gone crazy? She must have lost her mind from the intensity of the pain.
But, as soon as he saw that smile, Grey's heart started beating like crazy and the earth started spinning and he felt extremely dizzy.
Boom boom boom.
In the midst of his unconsciousness, Greo heard a strange whisper in his ear.
* Kill her, and she will be yours forever.
*Hee hee hee.
* She will not look at anyone else, she will desire you alone.
*Cri hee hee hee.
An unknown voice laughed, a disgusting laugh.
But with that chilling sound, Gryo's mind began to wander more and more.
'Kill her?' Kill... kill? Yes, in order to possess this woman in front of me... I feel like I might kill her.'
And at the moment his hand approached the woman’s neck.
“Senior? Senior! Are you okay?”
He woke up from his nap to the voice of someone urgently calling him while holding his shoulder.
The Young Master of the Hilderius Family was grabbing his shoulder as if he wanted to crush him.
His grip was so strong that he felt as if his shoulder would shatter.
“I...I'm fine.”
Grio regained consciousness due to the killing desire that the young master was directing at him with his frightening gaze.
What just happened?
He almost lost his mind because of this strange phenomenon that he encountered for the first time in his life.
“…I will start treatment.”
Grio felt the killing desire emanating from the Hilderius twins who were watching him fiercely, so he extended his hand towards the dying woman and began to activate his sacred power to carry out the attack. The magic of treatment.
Honestly, this is like pouring water into a holey jar... but, if I show that I did my best, I will at least get some points.
Maybe he'll get some position later, Greo muttered to himself.
Greo hoped that this woman's life would end quickly so he could leave this place.
However, something strange happened.
The woman's body began to absorb his sacred power with tremendous force.
“What is this...?”
Is this possible?
The woman was robbing him of his sacred power.
You looked around quickly.
Don't others see this? This crazy scene where his glowing holy power was flowing from his body to that woman!