"Sloth"

"Tick-tock..."

In her dazed state, Emilia heard the sound of dripping water.

The air around us was a bit cold.

The damp feeling is everywhere.

It has the hardness of stone on its back.

His hands and feet seemed to be bound by something.

Under these circumstances, Emilia gradually regained her consciousness.

"Hmm..."

With a soft murmur, Emilia slowly opened her eyes.

The moment Emilia opened her eyes, a face came into view.

It was a face that sent chills down your spine.

Pale and bloodless.

So thin he looked like nothing but skin and bones.

The eyes protrude slightly from their sockets.

Inside, there was a frenzied emotion that could almost be described as devoid of reason.

That face was staring at Emilia Emilia less than five centimeters away.

"————!"

A sense of dread washed over Emilia.

While Emilia felt a chill run down her spine, that face emitted a sinister laugh.

They were smiling, but tears were streaming from their eyes.

"Oh... oh... oh oh oh oh...!"

That was a cry filled with emotion.

Immediately, the other person's face moved away from Emilia, allowing Emilia to see the person's full appearance.

There stood a man dressed in priestly robes, with green hair and skin that appeared necrotic and terrifyingly pale. He was holding himself with his arms outstretched, weeping and making sounds that sounded like he was crying tears of joy.

"How...! How...! How, how, how, how, how, how beautiful it is!"

This man, overjoyed and weeping, was crying and laughing at the same time, as if thanking God for giving him birth into this world, or as if thanking God for giving him a reason to live. He held his head and spoke in a trembling voice.

"My brain is trembling..."

As he said this, the madman suddenly put his finger into his mouth.

"Pfft..."

Amidst the cracking sound of skin, the madman actually bit his own finger to pieces.

Fresh blood flowed from its mouth.

"You...!"

Emilia felt a chill rise in her heart, and her purplish-blue eyes looked at the madman with fear in them.

For no other reason than that the madman's behavior and actions were simply too incomprehensible.

However, the other party completely ignored Emilia's reaction, as if immersed in their own world, holding their head and twisting their body.

"This is just like the legends! No! It's the real thing! The silver-haired Half-demon! Right here in front of me! This is the witch's favor bestowed upon me! Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love!"

The madman, oblivious to everyone else, made cries of emotion and put his fingers into his mouth one by one, biting them until they bled. Blood stained his teeth and the severed fingers, the crimson color starkly bright in the dim space.

As if completely oblivious to pain, the madman is self-harming.

Meaningless self-harm.

At least for the Emilia, such Matoba was both meaningless and extremely impactful.

At that moment, Emilia couldn't help but look away, only to discover what kind of situation she was in.

Before me lay a pitch-black, dimly lit space, seemingly an underground cave.

Emilia, on the other hand, was bound by chains to a rock deep inside the cave, unable to move at all.

"I..."

Upon realizing her current situation, Emilia was taken aback at first, but then she finally remembered.

I should have been on the battlefield.

On the battlefield against the White Whale.

However, just as Emilia because of Fang Li great activity, she suddenly felt as if she had been hit hard on the back of the neck.

Then, when Emilia regained consciousness, she found herself here.

"Why..."

Emilia's brain, which had just regained consciousness, had not yet fully functioned properly, and she was further shocked by the incomprehensible behavior of the madman in front of her. She was somewhat unable to react.

However, at this moment, the madman who was self-harming suddenly stopped laughing and crying. His eyes, filled with a chilling madness, turned to Emilia. His head tilted to the side, at a ninety-degree angle, as if his neck had been broken, and he spoke without any emotion.

"The perfect opportunity! I really want to hold the trial now! But it seems I can't! Ah! This is also a test given to me by the witch! Yes! I know! This is a test! But! But but but but but but but! But the test is also because of love! Love!"

The madman's tone suddenly returned to its fanatical state. His head, which had been twisted at a ninety-degree angle, tilted to the other side at the same angle, and then shook his head back and forth like a pendulum, appearing completely insane.

Emilia couldn't help but feel fear and trepidation towards such a person.

However, compared to timidity and fear, Emilia noticed another fact that she had to pay attention to.

"Witch..."

Emilia's gaze towards the madman changed.

"Are you a member of the Witch Cult?"

One sentence brought the madman's actions to an abrupt halt.

Immediately, the madman laughed.

"How incredibly rude of me! I completely forgot to introduce myself to this important trial participant! Ah! Witch! Please forgive my laziness! Forgive me!"

The madman, who was shouting like this, suddenly grabbed a rock and slammed his head against it with all his might, smashing it until his head was bleeding profusely.

However, this time, Emilia was not intimidated by such crazy behavior. Instead, she stared at the other party with sharp eyes and questioned him.

"Answer me! Are you a member of the Witch Cult?!"

Unsparing questioning is a sign that one treats a madman as an enemy.

Upon hearing this, the madman stopped moving once again. Ignoring his bleeding head, he slowly turned his neck like a puppet, turned his head, and looked at Emilia. His face remained stiff and deathly pale. Only then did his body seem to react and turn around, making Emilia face him.

Immediately, the madman grinned, raised his hand, and spread it wide towards Emilia.

Yes! That's right!

"I am the Archbishop of Sin of the Witch Cult! The believer in ' Petelgeuse Romane-Conti!"

After speaking, the Witch Cult named Petelgeuse bowed solemnly to Emilia and made this statement with a mad expression.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, witch."