I Reject the villain’s ending.

Episode 20.

‘Hee hee, saint, saint, saint, saint. I’ve been waiting for you!’

‘Ah. I see.’

‘I am Viscount Ellis, lord of this Elotta.’

The name is so girlish that it reminds me of a blonde girl in a blue dress and an apron.

So whether my sensibilities are also girlish, Viscount Ellis approached me with tears like chicken shit.

I took a step back from him, avoiding his burdened face, and asked Iros in a small, quick voice.

‘There are rumors all over the country that I’m a wicked woman who eats people alive, is it possible that my rumors haven’t reached here?’

‘Of course not, your gacha-ban personality and evil deeds used to be on the front page of the newspapers, though it’s quieter these days.’

‘Gachaban……. Are you being sneaky?’

‘That’s just what the papers said.’

Iros shrugged and turned his head slightly, pretending not to notice. Unbeknownst to me, my misdeeds had reached the newspapers.

My question was still unanswered. I narrowed my eyes and pointed my finger at Viscount Ellis.

‘Then why does he look at me like I’m a savior?’

‘It’s because the warlock has done some serious damage.’

‘So my evil deeds have caught up with the warlock?’

‘Congratulations. You’ve turned out to be worse than a saint.’

‘I don’t think that’s something to celebrate…….’

In any case, the warlock has outdone my evil deeds, so people aren’t afraid of me anymore.

My reputation would certainly soar after this, at least in Elotta.

I righted myself and smiled benevolently in the manner of a saint.

‘Saint Sierra. I’ve received reports of warlocks causing harm to the innocent and good people of Elrotta, and I’m here to help destroy them.’

‘You’re a strange saint.’

‘Bitter.’

‘…….’

Beside me, Iros shot me a nervous glance, but I glanced at him and smiled softly at the lord and his people.

‘Shall we go inside and see what’s going on?’

‘Oh. Yes, yes. We’re in a bit of a hurry, so we’ve left the saint and her guardians standing on the road like this, so come on in!’

I climbed back into the carriage and drove slowly through the half-destroyed streets, past the unguarded checkpoint.

The deeper we went, the worse it got: houses smashed by something hard and sharp, scorched and charred, the ground pockmarked with dents.

If this was what we could see through the square window of the carriage, I couldn’t imagine how much destruction there was in the places we couldn’t see.

‘Everyone is terrified.’

‘They all have grim faces, and most of them are crying.’

At my words, Mei rolled up her skirt tightly and observed the people.

Gone were the exotic landscapes of El Rota’s famously colorful and glamorous neighborhoods, and the grey streets were depressing.

The streets were stained with tears as if people were afraid, sad, and angry about something.

Eldrakis, who had been watching them for some time, spoke up.

‘Nothing.’

‘What?’

‘There are no children. I don’t see any children, not one, not one of them old enough to be called boy or girl.’

Now that I think about it, I don’t see any of the young people I saw crying outside earlier.

I leaned back against the window again and scanned the street.

Nothing. Not a single pre-adult in sight.

‘Come to think of it, the report said that warlocks were kidnapping boys and girls in Elotta.’

‘If they were abducting them to the point where you couldn’t see a single one of them, that would be…….’

‘Human sacrifice.’

‘What?’

‘To make sacrifices, perhaps to invoke demons.’

Eldrakis and Mei’s faces grew serious at the sound of my voice.

‘There is a story in the middle and later chapters of The Mad Saint that warlocks ran rampant and sacrificed the children of the Pure White to summon a high-ranking demon to make a pact with them.

At that time, I had made the Second Emperor a puppet emperor and was running the empire from behind the scenes, so I didn’t care about the human sacrifices of the warlocks.

I, the Black Curtain, desperate to see this empire destroyed, was unable to stop the rampaging warlocks, causing many deaths and accelerating its demise.

Perhaps it was the demon they called.

‘The Clown of Hell.’

‘What?’

‘Nivas.’

It was Nivas, the demon of visions, dreams, and prophecies.

He was an orange-haired, glowing-orange-eyed, three-headed demon of the entertainment family who gave people hallucinations and nightmares.

He is a tricky foe to deal with, grabbing hold of dreams and weaknesses where people are most vulnerable, shaking them, and driving them mad.

Furthermore, he is the third highest of the seven classes of demons. His basic abilities are nothing like those of a normal demon.

‘You’re not going to summon that Nivas, are you?’

I cringed even as I spoke.

Nivas is often referred to as the jester of hell, but he’s a ruthless prophet masquerading as mirth.

He is a prophet of mercilessness masquerading as mirth. He gives you visions of endless chaos and terrible nightmares that shake you to the core.

A madman who takes pleasure in watching men wither and die, driven mad by visions and nightmares.

He’s single-handedly brought this great empire a few steps closer to destruction, so there’s no telling how chaotic it would be to have Nivas at this point.

‘Trouble.’

If this is a fictional world, and I’ve been reincarnated as Sierra from Crazy Saint, clichés might exist.

Like, ‘Did you do it?! and anyone who says before a battle, ‘I’m going to – with my family after the battle,’ always dies.

I was worried that these warlocks, these madmen, were trying to summon Nivas, as in the common cliché of man-grabbing.

‘Saint, do you know something?’

‘No. It’s just a guess, but if we know how many children the warlocks have taken, we can probably figure out which demon they’re going to summon.’

‘I guess we’ll find out when we get to the castle and ask them. I see the castle over there.’

At Eldrakis’s words, Mei and I looked out the window in unison.

We could see Elotta’s castle, huge, ornate, and still standing.

The sheer size of the estate struck me, and a sense of unease overwhelmed me at the number of missing children.

I asked through parched lips.

‘Eldrakis, how many people do you think there are in Elotta who have not reached the age of majority?’

‘Easily over thirty thousand, at least, since it’s a fairly thriving city and, judging by the population I’ve seen around, there must be over two hundred thousand lords here.’

Woe is me. That’s certainly more than enough to summon a third-rate demon.

They probably didn’t sacrifice all of the minors, and even if they did, it would be a generous number.

‘We are at the castle, please disembark.’

Opening the carriage door and reaching out to escort me, Iros’s eyes met mine with gentle concern.

I curled my slightly trembling fingertips around his, took his hand, and stepped out of the carriage.

Airos noticed my trembling hands, which were shaking with the fear of the unknown that I had only read about in novels, and whispered in my ear.

‘Don’t worry too much, I’m sure the Saint will protect you.’

‘I know.’

I know Iros’s skill with holy power and auras.

He’d probably protect me as well as he could, even if it meant cutting off my legs and arms.

But that’s not what I’m afraid of.

‘Warlock, the problem is that I don’t know what the hell these madmen are trying to summon.

If it’s Nivas, it’s a real headache, but at least I know his behavior, his mindset, and how he fights, so I can deal with it to some extent.

But other demons? They don’t call them demons for anything, they are truly vicious, merciless, and bent on destruction.

I’m afraid of the aftermath.

‘Damn. I thought I wouldn’t die if I stayed nice and quiet and didn’t take the evil-to-black route, but now I’m going to die for going out there.’

It’s bad enough I got hit by a lorry in my previous life, but I can’t afford to die again.

I took a deep breath and steeled myself.

‘Whoa. Pink.’

‘Yes, Saint.’

‘Let’s go.’

Iros replied with a wry smile, amused by the way I squeezed my hand and strutted away with a determined look on my face.

‘Yes. I will accompany you wherever you wish to go.’

‘This way, this way. Saint.’

Led by Iros’s escort and Viscount Ellis, the group trudged to the conference room.

The castle seemed unharmed, except for the fact that it was dark and quiet.

As I entered the room, I saw a large rectangular table littered with maps and papers.

A glance reveals lists of missing persons, areas affected, and casualty figures.

As soon as I was escorted to the table by Viscount Ellis, he suddenly fell to his knees in front of me and began to wail.

‘Hmph, Holy Lady. Please, please, save our estate.’

I hastily lifted Viscount Ellis to his feet and saw his pitiful face, runny with tears.

Then the vassals and priests who had entered the room with him fell on their knees before me in groups, weeping and begging.

The council chamber was instantly transformed into a wailing chamber.

Please save her.’

‘Young Ae?’

‘Saint, my son, too. Hmph, my golden fourteen-year-old only child……!’

‘I also have a young daughter…….’

‘And my sixteen-year-old daughter, who will be an adult in two months…….’

‘Our apprentice priests have been kidnapped by evil warlocks…….’

Viscount Ellis spoke, and the others followed suit.

I hid my panic as best I could, as I had already expected the scene, and spoke calmly to them.

‘We may not be able to get them all alive, but I promise you, we will, and we will not leave a single warlock alive.’

‘Black, hmph.’

I said. At my words, they sobbed under their breath. They were anxious and afraid.

It sounds cold, but I didn’t want to give them false hope.

I am very clear about what I can and cannot do.

I know better than anyone how it feels to have your hopes dashed, so I don’t give them false hope.

I glance down at my right hand out of habit, then look away and turn to the weeping lords and vassals of Elotta.

‘So, how many children have been kidnapped?’

‘A great many. Fifty thousand, as far as we know.’

Holy shit. That’s almost every child in the realm, including the unaccounted-for ones.

Maybe the situation is even worse than I thought.