The Freed Slaves Are Obsessed-Chapter 203: Abraxas

Conversely, gods bestow power upon their believers.

That power is divine grace—the means by which a god manifests through their followers.

A god protects their believers, grants miracles, and shines light upon the powerless so that they may endure the cruelty of the world.

But the Church’s situation was different now.

There was an intermediary between the god and the believers.

Saintess Elise.

Prayer, rituals, praises—none of them were being directed toward a god anymore.

All were now conducted in the name of Saintess Elise.

In other words, Elise was directly connected to the believers.

Her blood was unnecessary.

Not a single drop.

The moment the people prayed, the moment they united their faith, the moment they called her name—

They were already offering their devotion to her.

The faith that should have belonged to God was now flowing to Elise instead.

She received power from the believers.

And through them, she could exert her power.

As a priest, her authority had become incomparably greater than before.

So then...

If a Saintess could bestow blessings through the power of a god—

Would it not also be possible for her to bestow something else upon her believers?

That hypothesis was realized.

Elise was a Saintess, but she was also a vampire.

Just as gods granted divine grace to their followers, vampires bestowed their own blood upon their kin.

A vast network of interconnected believers—

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And what Elise sent coursing through them was not divine blessing.

It was absolute obedience.

The faithful, kneeling in prayer, never realized.

The moment they fell to their knees, their minds and bodies had already been claimed by the Saintess.

They believed they were following the will of God.

But standing before them was not a Saintess.

It was a vampire wearing the mask of divinity.

By the time they realized, it was far too late.

****

The streets of Kassilon overflowed with worshippers kneeling before the Grand Temple.

The Holy Knights.

The nuns and priests.

The clergy and common believers alike.

Some knelt of their own free will.

Others had no choice.

The latter were those who had opposed Elise’s rise to sainthood.

Even after Elise had taken her position, they had continued to pray not to her, but to Ordo, the god of order.

Among them were the Cardinals who opposed Marcenus and the White Knights.

Their faith had shielded them from Elise’s influence.

But they were a minority.

In a kingdom where ninety percent had already fallen under Elise’s control, there was nothing they could do.

They barely put up any resistance before they were subdued.

An entire Holy Kingdom, now brought to its knees by a single vampire.

"Hmph."

Cardinal Marcenus, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, nodded in satisfaction as he beheld the scene.

It had been abrupt, but this was precisely the result he had desired.

Now, he could impose the order he had always envisioned.

Yet, there was one thing that unsettled him.

"Why did you not consult with me before executing «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» this grand act?"

It was none other than Elise’s unpredictable actions that had thrown him off balance.

Watching an entire kingdom kneel before her was certainly a pleasing sight.

It was almost divine.

Even the ever-composed Marcenus felt his lips twitch with amusement.

But he had been absent at the most critical moment.

By the time his subordinates reported to him, it was already over.

Elise had acted alone.

"I lost control of my emotions. What can I say? I’m not a god. Sometimes, even I make mistakes."

"......"

Her leash had not yet been fastened.

And before that could happen, Elise had already seized everything.

Marcenus should have felt uneasy.

But he quickly decided that provoking her right now was unwise.

"Congratulations. So? How does it feel to have the world at your feet?"

"It doesn’t feel like much."

"I suppose that makes sense. You’ve only just taken the first step. And your condition is still... less than ideal."

"There are still unfinished matters to attend to."

"Unfinished matters? And what might those be?"

"I have yet to properly express my gratitude."

Elise’s fingers moved slightly as she spoke.

From beneath her feet, a pool of blood spread outward.

Bubbles frothed upon its surface—

And from within, bodies began to rise.

Their numbers easily surpassed a hundred.

Marcenus’ brow twitched.

Most of them were unfamiliar faces.

But there were some he recognized.

Roman, the theologian.

Matilda, the abbess of the convent.

They remained motionless.

Like rotting logs, stacked upon one another.

"I assume you understand without me needing to explain?"

One would have to be a fool not to.

They were all those who had participated in the Saintess Creation Project.

Elise had traced every single thread of memory, uncovering everyone involved—

And eradicated them.

"They all wished for it desperately."

"A world where order was restored."

"But this world was already too rotten for that to be possible."

"So I sent them ahead."

"Straight into the arms of the god they so longed for."

Elise smiled sweetly.

"Now, only one remains."

****

Chills.

That was the only thought that crossed my mind as I looked at the masses filling the streets, kneeling in prayer.

Rather than feeling overwhelmed by the grandeur of such synchronized devotion, I felt an eerie sense of unease.

After all, though they were praying, groans of pain echoed from various corners.

I lowered my head slightly to check their faces.

"Are you all right?"

"You... you're the Slave Reaper?"

"Yes, that would be me. Are you all right?"

"Do I look like I'm all right?!"

"Well, then, never mind."

Apparently, the answer was no.

They were offering prayers, but their expressions were twisted with agony.

It was clear that Elise had acted.

They had been forced to kneel under her power.

Even though the position of Saintess had never existed in the original story, it didn’t change the fact that the Holy Kingdom had been ruined.

The witch’s house had been burned to the ground.

‘That unfolded much more easily than expected.’

Certain scripted events had been skipped entirely due to the transformation of the game into reality.

And more importantly—because of the unique structure of Elise’s story.

Unlike other slaves, who stayed with me from beginning to end, Elise was different.

She didn’t need deep interference.

She was like a god—a distant entity watching over her believers, hoping they would navigate their own trials.

Her role was merely to serve as a signpost, offering hints through her actions and thoughts.

That was why I had spent most of my time loafing around in the inn, forcing her to report to me daily.

Otherwise, I’d have no clue what she was doing.

While I had been lazing around, Elise had been ceaselessly moving.

That was why everything felt like it had flown by in an instant.

‘She really did it all.’

A long, long journey.

Now, all that remained was Mirabel.

I arrived at the Grand Temple, where Elise was staying.

It was no different from the outside world.

Priests—dressed in ceremonial robes, the kind only granted to those of high rank—were kneeling in submission.

"Excuse me, coming through~"

I carefully maneuvered, making sure not to step on anyone.

And so, I arrived at the temple’s inner sanctum.

There, standing before the grand cross, Elise was offering a prayer.

I approached, watching from the side.

Elise had her eyes closed, her hands clasped together.

Her pure white hair, her pale—almost ghostly—skin, and the long, dark lashes that only emphasized her features.

It was absurd, but looking at her profile now, she truly did resemble a Saintess.

Even someone as devoid of faith as myself almost felt compelled to join her in prayer.

If I felt this way, then what of the clergy?

It was no wonder they had fallen so easily for Elise.

A bat that had mastered the art of ensnaring people.

Sensing my presence, Elise spoke in a gentle, saintly voice.

"You have arrived?"

"I can see you when I open my eyes."

Ah.

Her eyebrow just twitched.

She quickly composed herself, lifting her eyelids, her lips curving into a graceful smile.

"Welcome, Master. I have been waiting for you."

"Have you resolved what you intended to?"

"Yes, all of it."

I had seen the pile of corpses on my way here.

I had even checked who was among them.

"What will you do now?"

"I must correct the Church’s corrupted doctrine and establish a proper order. This place has become too twisted."

"Will you remain the Saintess?"

"Of course not. I must return to where I belong. I want to build a small church in a quiet village and take in orphaned children with nowhere to go."

A commendable answer.

It matched perfectly with the Elise from the Hansel and Gretel version of her story.

Final confirmation.

"Are you sincere?"

Elise fell silent for a moment before murmuring with closed eyes.

"There is not a single grain of falsehood in my words."

That hadn’t just been a simple question.

The most dangerous moment in Elise’s story was right at the end.

If one let their guard down, convinced that it was finally over, they would be deceived by Elise’s lies.

Elise the Shepherd Girl.

That was why I had issued a command using the chains of subjugation just now.

With that power, no slave could lie to me.

Of course, it lowered favorability, but at this point, I didn’t care.

Fortunately, she wasn’t lying.

"You asked me before—if you fell into ruin, would I fall with you? But there is no need for that. Elise is more than capable of overcoming it herself."

"......"

"I trust Elise. If she asks for help, I will offer it. But otherwise, I will not interfere. A master’s role is to watch from the sidelines, ensuring that their slave can conquer their trials alone."

For a fleeting moment, Elise’s pupils trembled.

As if moved by my speech.

"You have worked hard, Elise. Hold onto that resolve. And do not follow me."

"Of course, Master."

And with that—

The contract with Elise was lifted.

【 Vampire Elise ver. ■■■■■■ - Liberation Complete. 】

Vampire Elise.

Elise was once an ordinary girl.

She was not raised in the arms of a mother, but in the embrace of God's grace.

The first words she ever learned were not names, but prayers.

Watching the nuns pray morning and night, she dreamed of following in their footsteps.

She longed to hold the Rosaria, to bring salvation to others.

To live a life devoted to praising God.

Elise never once questioned that this was her destiny.

And so, she set out to become a true nun.

But what awaited her was not a holy trial.

It was a cliff plunging straight into Abaddon.

That day, Elise’s soul was drowned in blood.

A pool of blood where even God refused to grant salvation.

And it was not God who pulled her from that abyss.

It was you.

You freed her from the curse of blood that bound her.

But—

‘But?’

Something felt wrong.

Why had Elise’s liberation status not been fully unlocked?

And then—

Elise moved.

"Master, I am truly grateful to you."

"If not for you, I would still be lying, running, and hiding."

"Perhaps for my entire life."

"Though it is hard to believe, you were the one who changed my fate."

Slowly, she slipped the ring from her finger.

"No one’s judgment aligned with mine."

"At one point, I even thought—perhaps you were truly someone who cared for slaves."

"Perhaps you would be the one to save me."

And then—

She tossed the ring away.

Ting— ti-di-di-ding.

The ring rolled off into some unknown place.

At that moment—

The very atmosphere shifted.

The orderly, monochrome temple—

Was stained blood-red.

Crack.

Craaack.

From behind Elise, her cloak wriggled—

And her robes tore apart.

A second pair of wings emerged.

Four massive, bat-like wings.

"But it was a mistake."

"You may be a good person—"

"But you are not the Abraxas I was searching for."

...Abraxas?

"Though you were insufferable at times, I could at least laugh freely around you."

"Out of gratitude, I will not harm you."

"But... your throat looks so very, very tempting."

"If I stay any longer, I may bite you without meaning to."

"Goodbye, Master."

Snap.

Elise snapped her fingers.

A whirlwind of blood swallowed me whole.

As I was lifted into the air, my fading vision caught the final system message—

【 Vampire Elise’s Liberation Status: 50% 】

Reward: 10,000pt obtained.

【 Main Slaves’ Full Liberation Progress: 3/5 】