Abyssal Sovereignty

In a humble orphanage, a blonde girl with golden eyes was chatting with another, seemingly unremarkable girl.

"Anasthasia, do you think we'll ever live a good life?"

"Why do you ask all of a sudden?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I just saw some happy families at the market and thought about the jobs we've been assigned. I just wish everyone could be that happy..."

In this orphanage, children who were not adopted by a certain age were forced to work in various places, and it was never an easy task.

"Yverantheia, with your looks, you shouldn't have to worry about not being adopted, right? Though, it doesn't mean the people are always good... As for me, I don't even know where my sister is..."

"That's true... If I get adopted, I'll find a way to take you with me! Then we can look for your sister together!"

"Alright, it's a promise."

The two girls hooked their pinkies together.

 

---

A few days later, a group of people dressed in luxurious white robes arrived at the orphanage.

"Where is the girl named 'Yverantheia'?"

"Here, this way," the headmaster replied, wringing his hands as he led them to Yverantheia.

"Are you 'Yverantheia'? We are from the Holy Light Church. We have come to bestow upon you the title of 'Saintess.'"

"...?"

"Everyone, prepare to return to the main temple for the ceremony!"

"...Wait! If that's the case, can I bring Anasthasia with me?"

"...Is she the future saintess's companion? ...Very well."

Thus, Yverantheia suddenly became the saintess of the Holy Light Church, and Anasthasia became her personal maid.

"Praise the goddess."

Yverantheia knelt before the statue of the Holy Light Church's deity, the Goddess of Light, Illuminatia.

After carefully reading the Holy Light Church's scriptures, Yverantheia developed a deep interest in the Goddess of Light. Her thoughts and aspirations aligned with the church's teachings, and this curiosity gradually turned into faith.

"Saintess, it's almost time."

"Mm."

After daily prayers, Yverantheia would throw herself into rigorous training to strengthen her abilities and help more people.

Amidst all this, she never forgot her promise to Anasthasia, continuously searching for clues about Anasthasia's sister.

"…Oof!"

"Careful! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I just spaced out for a moment."

"…You should rest! You haven't slept for three days!"

"…This is nothing. For the people, for you, I will keep going."

"But you need to take care of yourself! If you keep going like this, you'll collapse one day! Listen to me, now…"

'…It's all in the past…'

To help her dear friend find her family, to make people happy, and to become a worthy saintess, Yverantheia sacrificed a lot and received little in return. She lost even more.

'Friends, the church, faith… everything I believed in has betrayed me… I won't forgive… I will make you all feel my pain!!'

Disappointment, sadness, anger, hatred… all these intense emotions surged within Yverantheia's heart. The once kind and devout girl had vanished.

Meanwhile, something immaterial deep within the girl's soul shattered and disappeared.

 

---

Yverantheia's eyes flew open, and though her eyelids were still heavy, her gaze was filled with fury and hatred. The force of her willpower overcame the physical burden on her body.

‘I… I’m still alive…’

Despite waking in a state of extreme anger, Yverantheia was bewildered by her current condition. Given the extent of her blood loss, she should have died long ago from exsanguination.

‘The blood on my clothes… it’s dried… the wound… it’s not bleeding anymore!?’

There’s a significant difference between wound healing and the cessation of bleeding. Yverantheia was experiencing the latter, which was still unreasonable under the circumstances.

Tap, tap.

A strange noise came from Yverantheia’s right side. Turning toward the source, she saw a peculiar creature clinging to her right shoulder, specifically to her severed arm.

It had a deep crimson exterior, with a horn-like protrusion on top and about ten tentacle-like appendages, similar to those of an octopus but without suckers, making them smooth all over.

What astonished Yverantheia  was that she hadn't felt this strange creature clinging to her at first.

‘Wait… the wound doesn’t hurt as much?’

Yverantheia tried to remove the strange creature. Initially, it resisted slightly, but it soon detached itself.

She inspected her right shoulder. Unlike other areas, new skin had grown there, eliminating the risk of infection.

“Could it be… you?”

“Pupu.”

The strange creature made an equally strange sound, as if responding to Yverantheia’s question.

“A creature I’ve never seen before. What are you?”

“Pupu.”

‘Is that… an answer?’

Yverantheia was puzzled, but regardless, it seemed her life had been saved by this strange creature.

“I’ll thank you for now, or else I wouldn’t have the chance for revenge.”

“Pupu!”

As Yverantheia nodded in thanks to the strange creature, she noticed a necklace.

“This… it’s broken…”

The necklace was used by the Holy Light Church to denote rank. As a saintess, a position equal to the pope, Yverantheia’s necklace had a pentagram within a decagon.

As to why such a high-ranking saintess had fallen to this state, Yverantheia realized now that the so-called ‘saintess’ was merely a tool.

“Whatever, broken is broken. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

Having decided to abandon her faith and seek revenge against the Holy Light Church, the broken necklace only reinforced her resolve. She tucked it into her pouch.

“…So, what’s next…”

To exact her revenge on the Holy Light Church, Yverantheia needed power. Currently, she was just a ‘healer’ with no offensive abilities.

“This must be the Abyss, right? There should be plenty of monsters, but their strength is a concern…”

While Yverantheia was contemplating, a small creature passed in front of her.

“This is… a Unihorn Rabbit? They’re here too?”

The Unihorn Rabbit was one of the weakest monsters. With Yverantheia’s third-level strength, she could defeat it barehanded without using magic.

“I’ll start by honing my close combat skills. I’ll have to relearn magic anyway.”

Up to now, Yverantheia had only studied faith-based magic. Unable to use it anymore, she needed to start over with other types of magic.

Conveniently, Yverantheia was also hungry and urgently needed to replenish her energy to heal her injuries.

So, she ran towards the Unihorn Rabbit.