[79.3] Mystery POV: What a Priestess Can and Can't do

The next day I stood in front of the door, expecting it to open, but it didn't.

I heard the announcer bellow, "Oho! What a treat! We have the disgraced priestess, a villainous deserter who turned her back on our Holy Goddess versus a Holy Priestess ranked top of her temple! I'm sure the rest of you can't wait to see this treasonous b*tch get ripped apart!"

Hm?

Who was the disgraced priestess?

Could it be the one who shaved her head and was wearing the collar?

I put my ear to the door and closed my eyes, focusing my holy power to see beyond the door.

Although I couldn't see perfectly, I could sense it was the shaved Priestess fighting one of the other Priestesses I had seen before. Unlike me, the shaved priestess went straight for the other Priestess. She fought with a metal sword rather than a Holy Sword, but as I watched, I realized she didn't need one.

The shaved Priestess was brutal and strong, she screamed as she attacked. Her voice sounded so primal and raw that it made her seem more similar to a rabid animal than a human.

The other Priestess fought back, using her Holy Weapon and taking advantage of the fact that her opponent couldn't use magic. The longer I watched, the more I wondered…

Am I a normal Priestess?

I can control dozens of Holy Swords without even having to touch them…

But I have never seen another Priestess do the same.

I pulled away from the door and stared at my hands in confusion.

The announcer shouted, "WHOA! There goes a damaging blow to the disgraced priestess! OH! And she was able to repay it with another terrible blow! Will our beloved Priestess be able to win this battle!?"

I returned to focusing on the fight, only to find that both of the priestesses were in bad shape.

"It looks like it's down to the final blow! Both contestants are completely exhausted from the fight, but only one can survive!! Who's it going to be?!"

The arena surged with cheers, everyone wishing death upon the disgraced prisoner. However, there was more fury fueling the disgraced Priestess who grabbed her sword and dragged it slowly to the other priestess who was struggling to raise her arms to protect herself. In one final swoop, the metal sword swiped through flesh.

The arena was filled with boos.

The announcer spoke, "Unfortunately, our Priestess has fallen. The treasonous prisoner gets to live another day."

I went back to the area where everyone was located, waiting patiently by the door. Sure enough, the shaved priestess shuffled in, her breathing laborious and her face white from blood loss. She ignored our stares as she dragged her feet forward, finally collapsing against the wall in her usual spot.

A Priestess snickered, "She may have survived the battle, but there's no way she'll survive with those wounds."

I looked at the shaved priestess, feeling a strange sensation pulling at my chest. Before I realized it, I was already at her side assessing her wounds.

She weakly spat out, "Get away from me."

"Helping isn't against the rules, right?" I added, "We just can't use lethal force."

Her face twisted, "Yeah but no one in their right mind would-"

A dagger was created in my hand, causing her to attempt to raise her hands to protect herself. I ignored this and cut my palm, rubbing my bleeding hand across her wounds.

"Stop! What are you doing-"

Her words abruptly stopped as she stared at the wound now healing.

I stared back at her without emotion. 

"How…"

"Holy Priestess blood is often used for healing potions and creation of weapons." I tilted my head in confusion, "Didn't the priests also take your blood for this sort of thing?"

She stared at the newly healed skin that had no scar and muttered, "...I've never seen it work this well."

I disintegrated the dagger and focused on healing my hand. To my surprise, it didn't.

I stared at the bleeding palm but quickly hid my surprise and wrapped it with cloth from the hem of my robe. 

She let out a heavy sigh, "Now I understand why you're here…"

"..."

I stared at her silently without replying. She didn't look surprised and continued, "I thought it was because you wanted to be Alora and were just strong enough at such a young age to accomplish that… Now I see I was completely wrong. Even though you don't have a collar like those other Priestesses, you were forced to come here. You didn't choose this."

I stared at her in silence.

She stared back and eventually spoke up, "Why did you get sent here?"

"They said I was too compassionate and only the Holy Goddess can have that much compassion."

She clicked her tongue, "How am I not surprised…"

I calmly spoke despite the sudden wave of anxiousness present in my chest, "...Can I ask you something?"

She blinked back with a distrustful gaze, "...I guess."

"Why did they call you a disgraced Priestess?"

Her eyes widened in shock, "..."

I lowered my gaze, "Forgive me. I spoke out of turn."

"No… No, I'm just surprised that you treated me even though you already knew that I'm disgraced." She ran her hand over her buzzed hair, "You see this? I shaved my head."

I nodded.

"Do you know why?"

I shook my head.

"It's because I hated it. I hated this blonde hair and what it meant. When I was younger than you, I was brought to a temple with terrible conditions. So many were dying and few were surviving. I don't know how I survived that treatment, but I did… However, when I got my first assignment, I realized how evil the Holy Temple is. They wanted me to kill children. Children!"

I blinked at her, "Isn't that normal? They did that to me as well."

She shook her head, "It's not normal. It's very abnormal and I refused to play along… I ran away."

My eyes widened, "You ran away?"

You can do that?

"Mhm."

"Didn't they chase after you?"

"Yeah. Do you think they would let me just get away? They chased me nonstop. I could never stay in one place for too long."

I furrowed my brow, "What did you do on the run?"

She laughed, "I lived. It was hard because of what I looked like. I shaved my head and tried my best to hide it, but it was difficult. I couldn't trust anyone and I always had to hide."

I whispered unintentionally, "Wow…"

She leaned her head back to rest against the wall, "Yeah, but I was caught and turned into a prisoner. That's how I got here."

A priestess interrupted, "No. You were turned into a prisoner because you became a deviant and slept with a demon."

The shaved priestess jerked forward and looked at me anxiously.

I stared back at her, "Is that true?"

She bit her lip and averted her gaze guiltily.

"Disgusting." A Priestess crossed her arms and glared, "How far you have fallen if you think that sleeping with a wretched beast is better than serving our Holy Goddess. Those scum creations deserve to die painfully until they are completely wiped off this land. They shouldn't exist. They are travesty against gods."

A demon suddenly shouted, "F*CK OFF YOU DUMB B*TCH!!!"

She turned her hatred to the demons and stepped over to the group of demons with a Holy Sword in hand, "What did you say to me?!"

As she swung the sword down at the demon, I jumped in front and caught the blade. I ignored the embedded blade in my palm as I spoke, "No lethal force."

She clicked her tongue and tossed her head. However, she didn't challenge me and walked away instead.

A prisoner snickered, "Got a backbone on you now, don'tcha brat?"

I ignored him and walked back to the disgraced priestess, "Why is sleeping with a demon bad? Haven't we been sleeping with demons these past nights? Doesn't that make us disgraced too?"

The room became awkwardly silent before the disgraced priestess coughed, "What she said was wrong. I didn't sleep with a demon, I fell in love and got married to one."

"Married?" I couldn't hide my curiosity, "But Holy Priestesses can't get married."

She smirked upon seeing my interest, "That's what they tell you, but they are wrong. You can do anything you want."

A priestess shouted, "Stop filling her head with blasphemy!!!!"

I ignored them and scooted closer to her, "What was it like with your demon?"

She chuckled and rubbed the top of my head, "If we survive tomorrow, I will give you a few stories. But for now, I need to rest. I'm still exhausted from that fight."