Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Salvation and Damnation

"Answer me!" Sintecia shouted as she reached towards the distant sky, her liquid arm glittering in Corruption Power, beautiful yet tainted. "You know this would happen, didn’t you?”

Beneath her, the puddle of yellow slime boiled. From it emerged an array of spears of light, burning brightly despite their corrupted nature. Fueled by madness and fury, they shot skywards, drifting in the infinite distance between the ground and the sky, disappearing into the great beyond. Like shooting stars, they illuminated the world for a moment and fizzled out in another.

"The Goddesses are on my side," she said. "I won’t lose myself."

"What about the others?" a feminine voice rang behind Sintecia. She spun around with her hands raised, manifesting countless slime tendrils around her.

Standing on Sintecia's shadow, a lady cloaked in a silky purple dress reached her hand out for Sintecia. The chains which bound her wrists creaked with her movement, sending echoes throughout the vast plain. Its noise sounded more poignant than metallic.

Surprised, Sintecia attacked her. A torrent of golden light flashed in all directions, vapourising the ground and heating the air. The earth sunk, the sky burned. The armageddon shook the vast plain as if a great earthquake had stuck. Looking at majestic sight, the lady smiled.

As the overflowing power hit her, the impact created no shockwave nor sound. The fallen light softly spun and dissolved in a puff of feathers, which snowed from the sky like a first winter. The burning heat became the summer breezes that caressed Sintecia. The bright sky became filled with falling feathers that shielded the light from above. The shade they cast flickered, moving along the warm air.

Sintecia stared at the sky, silent. Knowing the enemy was strong, she used most of her power in an instant, but her magic couldn't do anything. The spark of hope inside her had been snuffed out by a gentle smile. Yet her determination didn't falter. She shifted her gaze back to the lady's face then to her hand.

"Kill me if you will. My death won’t change anything."

"I will make it meaningful then," the lady said and traced her finger across the air. Her fingernail pierced through space-time and forged a connection between realities. "Your salvation, or theirs?"

The infinitesimal crack widened into a screen. Surrounded by the freezing blizzard, the holy paladins and the priests channelled their spells to keep the coldness at bay. When their magic shields met the snow, they cracked into snowflakes and froze the palm which held them. When their healing spells defrosted the air, the blizzard instantly froze it colder than before.

"Leader, I’m out," a young priest said. He opened his pouch and took out his recovery potion. "Last one already?"

Many other similar remarks resounded. The group had been battling against the coldness for hours. Though they had been helping each other by alternating the defence team and the recovery team, the endless storm was a slow march toward death.

"Don't lose hope," the strongest holy paladin shouted. "Her Grace will come. The Goddesses are on our side. We will prevail."

"For the Goddesses, for Her Grace!"

Despite the harsh condition, morale never dropped. No matter how the cold froze their skin and pricked their nerves, the hope they placed in Sintecia commanded them to live, to wait for her help, to wait for salvation. The blizzard was a trial of the divine, and only when they persevered would they survive.

Sintecia watched their struggle, unable to say anything. She wasn't there to help them. She wasn't even there to suffer with them. There was no salvation. She had already fallen. Left with no choice, she turned to the lady, her mind now and forever unwavering.

"I will do anything," she said. "I’ll surrender myself."

"It was never really a dilemma, was it? But, if you go back yourself, the information you bring will be a lot more valuable than what they can bring."

"Life is much more precious than mere information."

"Then, let us see if they also think so."

The lady stepped forwards and grasped Sintecia's hand. Her slender fingers wrapped around the slimy membrane, trickling Sintecia, who tried to resist but found herself powerless. She could only walk together with the lady, whose footstep opened a crack in reality. Gently, they leapt into the void.

The instant Sintecia stepped into another dimension, a gush of warmth flooded her body. Instinctively, she shifted her appearance and created a ceremonial cloak to conceal her body, turning her slimy skin human-like, mimicking her past self. Though she didn't wish to deceive her followers, she didn't have time to explain the curse or how she was still herself.

Once the lady manifested, the blizzard halted their power, hovering mid-air. The snowflakes, the snows, the icicles, the cold air, all paused their march under the presence of the great one, so powerful it suffocated the air and stagnated the flow of power.

Smiling, the lady held Sintecia, one hand on her waist, the other on her chin, pulling her face closer, smelling her sweet, flowery scent. The holy paladins and the priests immediately scattered around them but didn't attack in fear of harming Sintecia.

"Rejoice, I've come to offer you a chance," the lady said. "Your salvation, or hers?"

Sintecia attempted to speak, but the lady playfully pinched her cheek, forcing her to remain silent. She couldn't disobey, or else she risked losing the only chance of her followers' salvation. She had to endure and hope for the best.

The priests and the paladins looked at one another, unspeaking yet knowing full well what the others thought. Gradually they directed their gazes and trust to the strongest holy paladin, their leader, who had fought along with them since the first day.

The leader turned to his friends and followers, staring at their unblinking eyes for a moment. After he had confirmed their determination, he snickered and dropped his hammer and shield. The rest followed. Their duty was to protect the Holy Maiden and escort her to safety. Her life was the priority.

"Please keep your promise," the leader said. "Our damnation, for her salvation."

The lady smiled and relaxed her grasp on Sintecia, who immediately struggled, looking at her followers, her eyes brimming with grief.

"No!" she pleaded. "Let me stay here. I'll trade myself."

"Your Grace, ten years ago you saved us. It is now the time to repay you."

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"If you want to repay me, then go back alive. You will die if you stay here, but she won't kill me. We've already made a deal."

Hearing about the mysterious deal, the leader clenched his fists and shifted his eyes to the lady, who calmly listened to the conversation, amused by their desire to self-sacrifice. Playfully, she waved at the group.

"Is what Her Grace said true?" the leader said. "What will happen to her if we leave?"

"She will join me. I can guarantee her happiness."

The leader glanced at his followers, who whispered among one another. Their voice, though quiet, couldn't escape Sintecia. Their determination began to waver as a better choice emerged. Now, all of them could live.

"As soon as we get back, the Church will learn about this and send a response team to rescue her."

"But we shouldn't let Her Grace go through it alone. Where is your gratitude? She saved us back then, and this is how we repay her?"

"She said it herself. She wants us to live. That's why she goes to such a length. We must put our faith in her like how we put our faith in the Goddesses."

With her Monster Girl's enhanced senses, Sintecia listened to the hesitation. A graceful smile emerged on her face as her eyes spilt out drops of milky tears. She tried to wipe them, but the lady who stood behind her cleaned them first.

"It seems we'll get to spend a lot of time together," she said, deliberately raising her voice. "Your followers are sure quick fickle."

The whispering stopped as shame set in. For a moment, they were selfish, trying to justify their action without any consideration to the implication. Though no one said anything, everyone was disappointed at their own clouded judgement. It went against the teaching of the Goddesses.

"As expected, I think I still can't take the offer," the leader said then turned to Sintecia. He was the only one who didn't consider changing his choice. "I'm sorry, Your Grace. I can't let you suffer alone."

Hearing the final answer, the lady smiled at Sintecia, drawing back her hands, stepping away from her.

"Are you sure?" she said. "Death awaits."

"Then we die with honour." His words affirmed his followers' belief. They cast away their hesitation and, with one last look at their gorgeous Holy Maiden, laid their life in exchange for her safety.

"Don't worry about us. Please return safely and inform the church and our family of our sacrifice."

"I have a letter in my room on the second shelf beside the bed. Your Grace, please send it to my wife for me."

"May the Goddesses watch over you, Your Grace."

"Unfortunately, I don't think they will be watching over her anymore," the lady said and lightly pushed Sintecia towards the group. "Not with that body."

Surprised, Sintecia tumbled towards the priests and the holy paladins. Her ceremonial cloak shattered into countless sparks; her skin reverted to the yellowish slime. Despite the identical figure, Sintecia, as a Slime Girl, had a tantalizing air, which invited the eyes to feast on her curve, the hands to caress her skin, and the desire to violate her body.

Witnessing her sudden transformation, disgust seized the group; they instinctively backstepped away from her, letting her fall to the ground, crashing into a pile of viscous slime, which reformed in the next moment. After she regained her vision, she cowered in disgrace, her eyes trying to meet her followers but got overwhelmed by her guilt. They too failed to meet her gaze.

"She chose your salvation over hers, and I agree to it," the lady said. "Now, you chose her salvation over yours. It's amusing, so I decide to let both of you go. Sadly, it seems you don't want her anymore."

The group retreated farther away from Sintecia, who kept her eyes on the ground, unable to explain or excuse or confess anything. She had fallen.

"Your Grace, what happened?" the leader said. Each word that crawled out of his mouth clutched his heart, aching it until everything became numbed. "You have . . . fallen?"

"No!" Sintecai desperately vowed. "I’m still with the Goddesses. I’m still pure. My faith hasn't left me. The Goddesses will fix this. I haven't fallen."

"Your Grace, I," the leader said, eyeing his followers, who shared the same troubled gaze, "we trust you. We want to."

Using her Monster Girl's instinct, Sintecia easily read their emotions. She laughed at herself, her voice piercing yet mellow. She knew the feeling too well. The disgust, the distrust, the same one she felt when she bit into the Corrupted Tear. She chose it herself.

"I understand," she said. "Even if you can't trust me, you must trust in the Goddesses."

For one last time, Sintecia knelt against the ground. Though she was a Monster Girl, she silently lowered her head, clasped her hands together, calmed her heart, and prayed to the Seven Goddesses. The words she used to chant disturbed her soul and seared her body, but she endured the pain and reached out for her source of faith. Her last chance.

"I'll show you that I'm still me," she whispered.

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