“A-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ahahaha!!”

A slightly off-key laugh echoed through the air.

The clear soprano of a young girl rang out, yet it carried a strangely unstable edge.

Her golden ponytail, whipped by the blazing crimson flames, swayed lightly as if caught by a refreshing spring breeze.

Her slender, graceful figure looked far more suited to a delicate dress than any practical knight’s uniform — anyone who saw her would say the same.

Her sweet, angelic face was smeared with blood so dark it had turned black.
Her jewel-like eyes held the blue of the southern seas, and her small rose-colored lips had once been charming.
If her golden hair were carefully arranged and paired with fine jewels and a beautiful gown, she would no doubt be hailed as the greatest beauty across three kingdoms.

But now, the thing she held carelessly in her small, dirtied hands was neither a glittering, ornate fan nor a white porcelain teacup filled with fragrant tea — nothing even close to a proper lady’s accessory.

What the girl giggled over as she held it so casually…

It was a fist-sized, red-black, murky sphere that pulsed and flickered as if it had a heartbeat — no, it was the core torn freshly from the body of a berserk magical beast.

It soon began to emit an eerie, irregular glow, rapidly becoming too bright to look at directly.

Still brimming with immense magic power, it would soon form a new body.
And whenever a magical beast rebuilt its flesh, it forcibly drained the magic of the weaker beings nearby. The more it consumed, the stronger and more monstrous the resulting body.

“Everyone, fall back! Retreat!!”

Those who saw the glowing core shouted warnings to one another.
Many magic-users were gathered in this place.
If all of their magic was drained, none of them would be able to resist the magical beast once it reformed.

Just as fear threatened to crush them…

“It’s fiiiiine, fiiiiine. Ufufufuu. You, I’m gonna do this to you, and this, and this! Ahahaha!!”

The girl leaned back arrogantly, punching the core she held in her left hand with her right fist.
Each strike caused the core’s intense light to weaken at an accelerating rate.
The murky taint clouding the core thinned rapidly.

The magical beast’s core, corrupted by foul magic, regained its original beautiful shine in moments. All who witnessed it gasped, doubting their own eyes.

— It was too fast. Far too fast a change.

Combined with the childishly absurd behavior of the girl, the scene was so surreal no one could process it. Silence fell like water settling after a splash.

When the core’s glow shifted from muddy red to a gentle, clear blue, the girl finally stopped punching it.

Her expression instantly flattened, and she tightened her grip around the core.

“Yeees, you’ve calmed down now, right? You’ve calmed down, haven’t you? Now that you’re calm, listen carefully, understand what I’m saying, and respond properly, okay? — Now, onto the real topic. As you can see, I’m holding your core right here. A liiittle too much pressure and I can crush it, easy! Amazing, right?”

She said this cheerfully — while issuing a cruel threat.

The light leaking from the core flickered uneasily.
The girl’s eyes narrowed sharply.

“Hey, you. Don’t you dare start thinking useless sh*t, you damn beast. You wanna get crushed for real? You worthless, brainless, thoughtless, shortsighted, spineless piece of trash. Your life and death are literally in my hands. Understand that on a soul-deep level and cry pathetically while begging for mercy.”

At her sudden shift into a harsh, growling tone, the core quivered with fear.
Seeing that, the girl nodded in satisfaction and smiled sweetly.

“Yes yes, good boy. I like obedient ones. So, I’ll give you a choice!”

Her angelic smile matched her adorable features—
but the splattered blood covering her face made her look utterly psychopathic.

A magical beast’s body became dust once its core was removed.
The girl’s blood-splattered clothes and skin were slowly being cleaned as the blood dispersed into the air.
Oddly, the fading stains writhed like living patterns across her white skin, making her appearance even more disturbing.

Some of the onlookers unconsciously stepped back, fear creeping up their spines.

Ignoring them, the girl held up two fingers.

“You get two choices! One: I crush your core right now. Two: you make a familiar contract with me. If you sign, I’ll reconstruct your body in my preferred style! Fluffiness is justice! Smooth or rough is fine too, but when it comes to healing, fluffiness is the absolute supreme justice! I will accept NO objections! And right now, I’m even offering a special bonus — soft, squishy paw pads!”

Ufufufuu—!
She puffed her chest proudly.

A large hand suddenly touched her back.
It belonged to a tall, black-haired young man, also covered in blood.
He steadied his rough breathing and said in a cold, emotionless voice:

“Calm down, Nagi. You’re not capable of making sane decisions right now. Destroy the core—”

“Oh, you’re choosing the contract? Good for you! And just so you know, Seakvalt isn’t joking, he was dead serious! Lucky you — if you answered one second later, I would’ve crushed this reflexively. You see, I’ve been trained to obey Seakvalt’s commands instantly during combat! Because he’s my mentor! My demon coach! Training is sooo scary!”

A vein bulged on the young man’s forehead.

“Don’t say creepy things like that, you idiot!”

“Yes sirrr! I secretly love how the only insult you ever use is ‘idiot!’ Seakvalt-saaaan!”

The girl beamed.
The young man grimaced like he had swallowed something extremely sour.
The girl happily turned her gaze back to the core.

It was now a beautiful blue sphere, like a cloudless sky.

“Blue, blue, pretty blue. …Alright, decision made! Your new name is Mofurinu-ski!”

The instant she declared it, the blue sphere emitted pure white light.
Its outline blurred—

And a creature appeared.

It had a silver-white coat and blue eyes.
Its body was well-proportioned and beautiful, but lacked the sharpness of a wild beast.
With its ears drooping timidly and its head lowered as it watched the girl’s expression, it looked pitiful—like a scolded house pet.

The black-haired young man frowned.

“What is this? A wolf…? No, the legs are too short, and the eyes are too big and droopy. Did you mess up?”

“Wrong! Nope! This isn’t a wolf — it’s a Siberian Husky! Cuter, fluffier, and smoother than wolves, super soft and super cuddly, and absolutely amazing to hold!”

The girl declared proudly.
The young man tilted his head.

“Sibe…? Whatever. If the contract is done, put it away.”

“Aye aye!”

The silver beast slipped into her shadow.
The next moment, the girl collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
The young man caught her effortlessly and clicked his tongue.

“Seriously… The idiot who dropped her into this mess without telling us — how should we make them pay for this? Hah, Rainiel?”

“Yeah. …We’ll make them regret it.”

A second young man had appeared beside the girl just before she fainted.
He was slender but clearly well-trained, with blond hair and the same black-and-red knight uniform.
Blood covered him; anxiety and sweat clung to his face.

He steadied his breathing and touched the girl’s forehead.
Her skin was cold enough to make him frown.

— Her unnaturally high tension earlier was proof she had lost her composure.
A magical beast rampaging before her eyes must have terrified her.
Unable to overcome that fear, she let it swallow her whole — and lost her sanity as a result.

“The higher-ups probably assumed Nagi would be forced to sing the ‘Holy Hymn’ if pushed far enough… And they even cut off our communication line. They really must not value their own lives.”

He spoke through gritted teeth and draped a jacket over the unconscious girl.
The black-haired young man laughed bitterly.

“We reported it properly, didn’t we? — Our saint can’t sing. All Nagi can do with her saint power is return corrupted magic to normal by touching it directly.”

The ‘Holy Hymn,’ the saint’s unique magic, soothed and healed any magical disturbance.

Its harmony brought blessings to the world — it was the mark of a true saint.

But Nagi, the saint who appeared in the Kingdom of Rugenda six months ago, possessed overwhelming magic yet could not sing the ‘Holy Hymn.’
The only thing she could do was restore corrupted magic by direct contact.

And so, people eventually gave her a certain name.

— The Bloodstained Saint, the Bloody Saint.

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