Chapter 9: The Fall of the Corrupt Priest.
Fall.
Fall.
Cornu left. I swiftly moved back inside the mercenary guild.
“P-Priest Marnak! What in the world is happening?”
“Do not move a single step from that spot! Stay right there!”
“Huh?! What’s…”
I didn’t wait for Erin’s reply. I flew into my room, grabbed my Froststeel sword, and rushed straight to the quarters where the priests of the Purification Church were staying.
“Mother! Are you here?”
Assassination!
So they took the relic after all. Without a second thought, I turned and returned to the first floor. Erin, who had been peering outside the door, heard my approach and cried out urgently.
“P-Priest! A m-monster! There’s a monster in the middle of the city!”
She didn’t run off as ordered. Saved me the trouble of chasing her.
“What do we do now… Ahh!”
I scooped Erin into my arms without hesitation.
“Priest Marnak?!”
“Where is it?”
I charged out of the mercenary guild.
“Huh?”
“Where’s the clinic treating Fyure? Guide me there now!”
I couldn’t let the life I’d barely saved be pointlessly lost in this chaos.
“Help me!”
“Move aside! Stop blocking the way—get out now!”
“Aaaaahhh!”
Tangled crowds and screams. The city had already been swallowed by chaos.
—Graaaaahhh!
A colossal monster rampaged madly, destroying everything it touched. Collapsing buildings and flying debris. Where the demon passed, only thick pools of blood and flesh remained.
A man in gleaming white armor stood atop the demon’s pitch-black skull, raising a hammer and shouting:
“Scales of Retribution!!!”
The massive warhammer blazed with white light. Obs gripped the raised hammer with one hand and swung it down at the demon’s head.
“Die, abomination!”
As the warhammer struck, a giant hammer of light plummeted from the sky. The demon, hit by the “Hammer of Punishment,” shrieked in agony.
—Graaaaahhh!
The enormous black crocodile thrashed wildly, crushing countless more people.
Blood. Blood. Crimson blood. Flesh. The flesh of innocents. Despair. Fear. Chaos.
Gius was crumbling.
“Erin!”
“Y-yes?!”
“Take me to Fyure’s location—now!”
Erin pointed in one direction. I kicked off the ground and raced down the street. Though I carried Erin, Mother stayed silent. She knew how serious I was.
“Priest Marnak! There! Over there!”
The clinic housing Fyure was near the demon’s rampage. Its door hung open.
“Fyure!”
Blood streamed across the floor. The clinic’s owner was already dead. Two men looting the place froze mid-action, staring at me.
Trash. Hopeless, irredeemable trash.
“W-who’re you?!”
Without pause, I drew my Froststeel sword and beheaded the nearest man. Shaking blood from the blade, I seized the other’s skull and smashed it into the wall. His head burst like overripe fruit, spraying gore.
“Fyure!”
Thankfully, Fyure lay unconscious on a bed, body swathed in bandages. I sheathed my sword and hoisted him with both arms.
“Hold tight! I can’t carry you with both hands now!”
As Erin locked her arms around my neck, I bolted toward Gius’s west gate. The streets seethed with fleeing citizens. Those who stumbled were trampled to death.
—Graaaaahhh!
I gritted my teeth through the roars. This clogged route would take too long.
I scanned the area. A low rooftop, climbable in one leap, caught my eye. My body moved faster than thought. Erin screamed.
“Aah, aaaaah!”
I vaulted between rooftops, racing for the nearest west gate. When I arrived, the gate was as chaotic as the streets.
“P-Priest! I know a secret passage!”
“Where?”
“Head that way!”
Following Erin’s directions, we reached a small building.
“Its underground tunnel leads out of Gius! But the door’s locked…”
“Understood.”
I kicked the thick door, shattering it like paper. After descending, I set Fyure and Erin down at the tunnel entrance.
“If things worsen, flee immediately.”
“B-but what about you?”
“I’m going back.”
Now that those I knew were safe, it was time to save strangers.
Erin tried to speak, but I was already sprinting out.
—Graaaaahhh!
Another hammer of white light crashed from the sky. The demon howled in pain, shaking its head. Obs clung to the white sword embedded in its skull, weathering the tremors.
“Scales of Retribution!!!”
A man with horns on his head charged toward the demon's foreleg.
A brilliantly shining hammer struck the foreleg.
Once again, a hammer of light came crashing down.
However, Cornu's hammer was noticeably smaller than Obs's, and naturally, its impact was weaker.
Gaaaaah!
Cornu couldn’t evade the demon’s swinging foreleg. The one-horned man flew through the air, crashing into and breaking through a wall. Seeing this, I ran toward where Cornu had been thrown.
“Priest Cornu!”
I called his name over the rubble, and a faint, crawling voice responded from somewhere. I quickly moved toward the sound’s source.
“Priest Marnak… it’s you…”
Cornu’s condition was dire after being struck by the foreleg. His twisted armor had long become shackles binding his body, and bright red blood seeped endlessly through its cracks. I gripped the half-crushed Cornu and urgently asked:
“Where is the other priest?”
The priest named Petina, who had come with them, was nowhere to be seen. Cornu barely mustered the strength to rasp:
“Petina… is dead.”
“The demon! Is there a way to subdue it?”
“Yes… Another relic we brought… The white sword Priest Obs drove into the demon’s head… Pierce its thick hide and drive it into its brain… The demon will die…”
With his final breath, Cornu fell silent. I placed my hand on his head and closed his eyes.
“Mother of Decay, receive this one.”
With a quiet prayer, Cornu’s body decayed instantly, leaving only crumpled armor behind. The two-fingered man had become one with divine holiness.
Now armed with all necessary information, it was time to stop the rampaging demon.
Exiting the building, I drew my Froststeel Sword. The blade slid smoothly from its sheath.
Gaaaaah!
The demon still thrashed wildly in agony.
“Scales of Retribution!!!”
Obs clung tenaciously to the demon’s skull, relentlessly hammering with one hand. Upon closer inspection, I realized his strikes weren’t aimed at the demon’s hide—they fell precisely on the hilt of the white sword embedded in its head.
That sword must be the relic to subdue it.
The massive creature charged toward us, its body smashing buildings with each step. The ground shook violently under its building-crushing weight. Amidst the chaos, I calmly waited for my moment.
Gaaaaaah!
When the demon closed in, I leapt forward and plunged my Froststeel Sword into its leg hide, hanging on as it flailed. The violent shaking nearly threw me off, but I steadily climbed its leg toward the head.
“Scales of Retribution!!!”
Another roar echoed as light cascaded downward.
Gaaaaaah!
The world flipped upside down in the chaos. The demon, having lost all patience, rolled its massive body across the ground. Staying put meant being crushed beyond recognition—I yanked out my sword and kicked away from the demon’s body.
Falling from the height I’d barely scaled, rough air resistance battered me. The distant ground rushed upward. I rolled to minimize the impact, my flesh tearing as white priest robes stained crimson.
Through the sharp pain, I forced myself up. My drug-enhanced body obeyed instantly, as if anticipating commands.
Gaaaaaah!
The demon’s triumphant roar faded as I spotted Obs’s remains—utterly crushed beneath the creature’s bulk. Unlike me, he hadn’t escaped.
Looking up, I saw the white sword embedded deep in the demon’s crown. Having slaughtered all purification priests, the demon now razed everything indiscriminately. Screams of those still trapped filled the air.
I sprinted again—across flat roads, over rubble, scaling rooftops in leaps.
Thud.
My Froststeel Sword pierced the demon’s tail hide. Compared to its colossal frame, the blade was but a needle, dealing no real damage. Ignoring me, the demon continued destroying the city.
Clutching my sword, I inched forward across its shaking body. The target was the relic in its skull. Obs’s efforts hadn’t been wasted—only a sliver of the white blade remained visible, buried deep. A single push would end this.
Gaaaaaah!
The demon’s thrashing grew fiercer. When the shaking became unbearable, I gripped my sword tighter and hung on until the tremors passed. As the frenzy intensified, I patiently climbed its back until the white blade loomed before me.
Reaching for it was a reckless, desperate mistake.
Kill!
Something snapped loose in the chaos. My mother’s hand—kept close to my heart—tumbled through the air toward the ground.
Kill!!!!
Thud.
Silence. Her voice vanished. Lonely terror choked me. I couldn’t breathe.
Mother. Mother. Mother! Mother!!!
The blade no longer mattered. I leapt from the demon’s skull without hesitation.
The landing shattered my legs. I wept like a child.
“Mother! Where are you? Mother!!!”
A tiny voice seeped into my mind:
Kill…
I crawled toward it, nails breaking, fingertips bleeding. Finally, I reached her hand amidst the debris. Peace returned.
“Ah… Mother…”
Kill!
“Forgive me… I nearly lost you because of my impatience…”
Kill! Kill! Kill!
“What should I— Huh?!”
Following Mother of Decay’s guidance, I saw Obs’s crushed corpse—and a small mirror beside it.
Kill!!!
The mirror contained the sealed divinity of decay we’d sought. I grasped it and smiled.
“As they say—life’s twists are unpredictable. This is interesting, Mother.”
