Saint's Prison - Chapter 65

The Voice of the Holy One

Sophia PoV

The pilgrimage journey is long and harsh.

That’s why it can deepen faith in God.

In suffering, pain, and sorrow, there lies true salvation.

For that, the journey must continue.

However, it’s just a journey of a woman. The outside world is full of dangers, and death is always staring at me. How far can I walk this path…?

When I visited a village, I heard from the villagers about a monastery deep in the forest.

According to them, when their great-great-grandfather was a child, there was an evil dragon living in that forest. The dragon crawled on the ground, breathed poison, and dragged all the people who entered the forest into the darkness.

The distressed people asked the dragon for forgiveness, and the dragon said this.

“If you want life, dedicate something pure to me.”

Hearing this, the people offered a pure maiden as the dragon’s priestess.

A certain saint heard this story and came to this land to slay the dragon. The saint offered a prayer to God, borrowed the help of heaven, and exterminated the dragon.

Upon hearing this story, I decided to visit the Stonehurst Monastery out of curiosity.

It was fine to step into the dark, stagnant forest leading to Stonehurst during the day, but I immediately lost my way. I don’t know how long I walked. Was it a few hours, or maybe a few days? While my consciousness was clouded with fatigue and hunger, I walked aimlessly through the forest.

Fortunately, I was able to reach the Stonehurst Monastery before I ran out of strength on the way. This must also be a trial given by God.

Before I knew it, several weeks had passed since I started living here.

This Stonehurst seemed somehow different from the monasteries I had seen before. I don’t know why. It’s just that… yes, I felt a vague sense of discomfort.

Is this really the place where the saint exterminated the evil dragon by the grace of God?

***

Night.

I heard a faint noise and woke up.

Since I’m the only one in the pilgrim’s dormitory, I felt a chill down my spine. It might have been an intruder. I’ve experienced this many times. I grabbed the dagger for self-defense that I had beside my pillow.

I held my breath and glared at the door.

For a moment, a strong wind blew, and I involuntarily closed my eyes.

When I opened my eyes again, something was there.

“… Eh?”

I heard laughter.

A light, clear voice.

That voice was not a man’s voice. Rather, it was that of a young girl.

“Who… who are you?!”

Giggles.

A laughing voice. A mocking voice.

Like a whisper, like a shout.

I hear the sound of something being dragged.

No, it’s the sound of something crawling.

It’s slowly coming this way.

“Don’t come, don’t get any closer!”

It doesn’t stop.

A vague, swaying shadow.

A raw, dragging sound.

I thought I heard a high-pitched ringing, and the shadow stopped abruptly.

―Do you believe in God?

I didn’t know what I was being asked.

After a beat, I offered a desperate prayer.

“Oh, Lord. Please save us from sin. Please save us from evil!”

―But does God believe in you?

For some reason, I couldn’t answer immediately.

My consciousness is fading.

I collapsed on the floor, unable to move.

It seemed to have come right up to me and was looking down at me.

My vision blurred.

The last thing I saw was a pair of eyes glowing deep crimson.

***

When I woke up, my whole body was drenched in sweat from sleeping.

Was it a dream?

I got out of bed and let out a deep sigh.

I’ll wash my face and change my mood.

Thinking so, I took a step. And then, I opened my eyes wide.

That’s because there were clear traces of something crawling on the floor.

I screamed silently and collapsed on the spot.

Is this a trial from God?

Or a temptation from the devil?

What on earth did I, Sophia Rome, see?

Translator note : i did generate Saint’s Prison character in Chapter 135.5 ( Premium) so yeah if u wanted to see it sooner (because of spoiler in Character V2 i did not post it instantly, so u guys need to wait to chapter 116.5 or you can buy the chapter just to see character introduction v2 and my generative AI images. i really excited with the result.