While I was shouting at Luciana and Bliss to catch the succubus, the creature was frantically flying away.

She was already quite far when I began to worry. Do they even have ranged skills that can hit her from here?

Bliss, however, pulled out something that looked disturbingly menacing from his inventory.

A chain... with a blade?

It was a weapon with a hefty chain ending in a diagonal guillotine-like blade. Bliss gripped the chain end and swung it lightly in the air, then turned to me.

“What do I do once I catch her?”

“...Just catch her. Don’t kill her,” I replied.

Bliss nodded and hurled the heavy chain blade toward the succubus with all his might.

Is this even an item? How can a chain like that fly such a distance?

It seemed impossible for such a hefty weapon to reach the succubus, no matter how hard he threw it.

I was also half-worried that Bliss might deliberately miss out of spite—revenge for that argument we had last time.

Thankfully, my worries were unfounded.

Bliss activated a skill right after throwing the chain blade.

The name of the skill? Aid of the Departed, an S-grade ability.

When he used it, wandering spirits from the afterlife converged around him, infusing the chain with their power.

Saaaaa—

A chilling aura began to emanate from the chain.

The weapon, which should have dropped far short of its target, was now propelled endlessly by the unseen power of the spirits.

The succubus noticed something hurtling toward her and tried to change direction mid-air, but it was futile.

The spirits infused into the chain shifted its trajectory, pursuing her with relentless precision. It moved as though alive, snaking through the air until it wrapped tightly around her.

“Kyaaahh!!”

The succubus screamed, her shrill cry distinctly demonic, as she plummeted to the ground.

Watching this, I exhaled deeply and collapsed.

“...It’s over… Just keep her restrained… no killing her…”

I trusted Luciana and Bliss to handle the rest.

With relief washing over me, the consciousness I had barely clung to finally slipped away.

----------------------------------------

To be honest, I completely forgot about the count right before I passed out.

I’d tied him up in a remote area, planning to hand him over to the authorities later. And I left him there.

Sure, he was just an F-rank awakened human with no notable skills. And I’d bound him tightly with ropes, so escape seemed impossible.

But what if he’d been discovered by wild animals—or worse, bandits—and ended up dead?

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That could have been disastrous. Noblesse obliges aside, I could have been accused of killing a noble myself.

So, when I woke up, I shot upright in bed, shouting, “Oh no! The count!!”

I might have bolted out of my room in a panic if Rubin hadn’t been there to calm me down.

“Relax, Niké. The count’s already been taken to the capital and is under investigation—for kidnapping and fraud.”

Still groggy, I blinked at Rubin as he explained patiently.

“He’s trying to prove he was under the influence of a mind-control skill. That way, he’ll get a reduced sentence for the prophet kidnapping charge due to diminished capacity.”

“...Is that so?”

“Yeah. But the fact that he tried to exploit your amnesia to hide his actions—and extort compensation later—still makes him guilty of fraud.”

“What about the video I recorded that day? Did you submit it as evidence? You edited out the parts where I, uh… got physical, right?”

“Of course!” Rubin wagged his tail indignantly, as if offended by the question.

“The property damage and assault charges against you were dismissed. Everything you did was in the process of rescuing the prophets, so you’re in the clear.”

“Phew… That’s a relief.”

“People in the church are starting to understand you’re not at fault, so the gossip about you has died down too.”

“Thanks. But, Rubin, you’ve adapted to church life pretty quickly, huh?”

Rubin’s comments about my reputation within the church caught my attention. He’d only been here for a few days, yet he seemed to know the inner workings already.

“Oh, it’s been a week. Plenty of time to figure things out.”

“...A week? Wait, if you’ve been here a week, then—”

“Yeah. You’ve been unconscious for a whole week.”

Rubin’s tone turned icy as his eyes narrowed into sharp slits, glaring at me.

“Do you have any idea what I went through during that time? You promised you’d outlive me, yet here you are, pushing yourself to the brink... You owe me!”

With a powerful leap, Rubin pounced and bit my finger.

Of course, it was more playful than aggressive—a soft nip that left me feeling his warm, velvety mouth rather than any pain.

As he gnawed on my finger, I fell into thought.

A whole week? My fractured bones seem mostly healed, but draining all my divine power must have taken a heavy toll.

Even with my sturdy S-rank body, I’d pushed it too far. I needed to be more careful. Overusing divine power clearly had lasting effects, no matter how resilient I was.

Still, I couldn’t just lie in bed all day.

“...What about the prophets?” I asked.

Rubin released my finger and replied, “They’re being held by the church for now.”

Then, lowering his voice, he added, “Officially, it’s been announced that they escaped from the count and then disappeared. Since you told me to ‘hold them,’ I made sure they’re secure, but the church doesn’t really have a valid reason to keep them detained.”

“I need to check on them,” I said, throwing the blanket aside.

“You might want to hold off. They’re not in the best state. They didn’t pass out like you, but they’re practically feral.”

“Feral?”

“They’ve used so much magic that they’ve lost their reason. They attack anyone who gets close.”

“Ah…”

I understood immediately.

When anyone—demon, human, or spirit—pushed their powers beyond their limits, they sometimes lost their sanity. Gamers back in my world used to call it “end-stage frenzy.”

So, they’re in that state... I guess talking to them is out of the question for now. But I still want to see how they’re doing.

I decided to check on them myself, standing up from bed—only for a blade to embed itself in the floor beside me.

What the—?

I turned toward the doorway to see the culprit.

“Bliss…?”

Standing there was Bliss, with a familiar weapon in hand—the same chain blade he’d used to catch the succubus.

“Your Holiness,” he said with a serene smile, “you mustn’t leave the bed. You need to rest.”

I stared at him, dumbfounded.

“Do you even know what ‘rest’ means? Because tossing a lethal weapon at someone doesn’t exactly say ‘take it easy.’”

I retrieved a mace from my inventory and bellowed, “Guards! Get this lunatic out of here!”

Bliss remained unfazed. “The guards won’t come, Your Holiness.”

Luciana’s voice answered from the window, startling me.

“Luciana?! When did you get here? And are you climbing in through the window?!”

Ever the picture of decorum, Luciana now perched casually on the window frame.

“I’ve been keeping watch from outside. In case you tried to escape.”

“...Explain in terms I can understand.”

Luciana’s expression remained as serious as ever.

“Your recent actions have greatly benefited the church, but they’ve also placed you in grave danger time and time again. We’ve decided to strengthen your protection.”

Bliss stepped closer, bowing slightly.

“For your safety, Your Holiness, your movements will be... somewhat restricted.”

“Somewhat?! If this is ‘somewhat,’ I’d hate to see ‘entirely’!”

Yet no number of protests swayed them. Thus began my new life: a prisoner in my own room.

----------------------------------------

But this situation couldn’t last.

If I wanted my freedom back, I needed a miracle cure. And one word came to mind: Elixir.

A legendary potion said to restore even the gravest injuries instantly.

Could it be the answer?

Without hesitation, I opened my inventory.