Volume 6 Chapter 40-2 Are All Our Feelings Being Voiced by Saint？
Ellie continues with a plausible hypothesis.
If it was before Charlotte became Saint, it must have been during or before the time when the first Saint and Ellie were recognized, she explains.
At that time, there was no existence called Saint.
And yet, the man assigned Ellie a role that sounded all too fitting: the role of a Saint, as she sacrificed herself for the people.
"Did he take preemptive measures to keep my soul from running wild, or to purify my restless spirit..."
Ellie, deep in thought, lets out a small sigh.
"Probably the latter. Considering the system has continued to this day, and that he was searching for my body, it's likely he intended to purify my soul as well."
A concept designed to act upon Ellie's soul.
It was a monstrous act because it designated Ellie as the first Saint.
This reasoning could also explain the action principle that led to the execution.
To strip the soul once and purify it later.
"As the first Saint, I would be the greatest. If they smash that concept into my soul with numerical force... perhaps I might become beautiful."
Ellie chuckles dryly, "I can't lose; I have my dirt," she says, pressing her chest with a hint of joy.
That it pertains to Liz and Randy is something Catherine and Cecilia understand as well.
"I see. They're smashing the pure image of Saint, created by the masses, into your soul."
Catherine sighs and averts her gaze from another emerging scene.
It undoubtedly shows a young Catherine and a woman leading her by the hand.
Accumulating facts like this, Catherine shakes her head and looks at Ellie.
"It kind of feels like that ghost guy, you know?"
"The principles are somewhat similar."
Tainting the soul with the miasma of fear, absorbing it, to create beings like the Void Walker and the Undead King (Nosferatu).
The intention is to gather the opposite of that corruption, purify the soul, and create a new existence.
Cecilia gives a wry smile as Ellie continues with this plan.
"I never imagined that a phenomenon we discovered in a place like this would actually come to fruition."
Cecilia nodded with a wry smile, "If that development hadn't happened, we may never have arrived at this cave's hypothesis." She let out a heavy sigh.
"It was Sir Randolph's brainchild, you know..."
"It was just a whim, without any knowledge,'Let's build a camera,' what a ridiculous idea! And he actually did it. The person who created this place must feel awful."
Catherine shrugged, a self-deprecating smile on her face. "I know firsthand."
Having experienced Randolph's harebrained schemes firsthand, Catherine couldn't say it wasn't personal.
"As someone who's been through it, all I can say is, stop antagonizing that fool. Unfortunately, he's sealed away, so it's no use."
Cecilia watched Catherine with a knowing smile, as the latter's shoulders slumped.
From between the two, Livia emerged, her brow furrowed.
"Gathering thoughts and pouring them into a soul to create a new being... What was he really trying to accomplish?"
"Well, you can't understand the way a fool thinks."
Ellie shook her head, her face contorted in displeasure.
Catherine and Cecilia both stifled the urge to say, "We know."
If the hypothesis was correct, that man undoubtedly intended to impose his ideals onto Ellie's soul.
It was an unsettling obsession, but Ellie wouldn't speak of it.
"However, everything is circumstantial evidence at this point."
Ellie sighed, continuing, "But it's undeniable that this cave is creating a collective unconscious, 'Saint,' shared by all of us."
"Still, why did they restrict entry only to women?"
Catherine tilted her head, "If it were open to both men and women, it would be easier to gather imagery."
"It's not that simple."
Ellie, with a frustrated sigh, said, "It's the creator's doing, after all," and gave a deeply unpleasant expression.
"Perhaps he didn't need stories from other men. Or maybe he wanted only women around him."
An obsession of an unusual man.
Ellie recounts that the result of this obsession led to the beginning of a cave dedicated to creating an ideal Saint figure, gathered solely from the girls.
"...so creepy."
Catherine, completely taken aback, finds that Cecilia and even Livia are nodding in agreement.
"Hahaha. Keep saying it. His ideal Saint is nothing but a fantasy."
The moment Ellie laughed, the scenery inside the cave began to warp significantly.
"W-what is this..."
Catherine, panicking, looks around, stating that she has never seen a situation like this before.
"Don't worry. The cave has deemed us as foreign entities."
"Foreign entities?"
"We do not fit the image of a Saint. That's right."
In front of the 4, the path abruptly ends, revealing a wide cliff.
Ellie twirls her staff with her right hand, stopping it sharply, as if something might emerge at any moment.
"It's because you said something ominous."
"What are you talking about? This is because of you, isn't it?"
With a smile, Ellie turned to Cecilia and the others, saying,
"It's you who collected the memories of a Saint here."
"Huh?"
To the bewildered Catherine, Ellie smiled and said, "Let them remind you."
"Having men at your command, being called The Witch Who Brings Ruin to a Kingdom, and now perceived as a sorry excuse for a Saint."
Cecilia's rueful smile earned a nod of agreement from Ellie, who said, "That's right."
"The image of the Saint you brought forth seems to be a bit too stimulating for this place."
With a beaming smile, Ellie prompted Catherine to distort her face in response.
"W-was it my fault?"
The moment Catherine's bewildered voice echoed, a giant woman appeared from below the cliff.
"Well then. Shall I break this apart? Such foolish fantasies──"
* * *
Meanwhile, at a certain location in the Empire──
Leonius, leaning back in his office chair, flips through a book.
The manner in which he browses the pages suggests that he has read this book many times before.
Leonius closed the book with a snap after shuffling through it like a spell.
"Victor. It's all thanks to you. This journal, the stories from my mother, and the mystery of the ghosts that you've solved. Thanks to you, I've finally reached the goal of the [Cave of Saint]."
Leonius chuckled softly and tucked the book carefully into his breast pocket before rising to his feet.
"It won't be long now. Until the signal fire for the feast that will engulf the continent──"
The setting sun cast a shimmering light on Leonius's golden hair as he drew back the curtains.
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