Chapter 455

Rübitz, having lost all his strength, collapsed in a heap. What followed was literally a symphony of screams.

“Kyaaaah! Keeeek! Graaaah!”

“You little brat, what did you say to me? ‘Behold the Wisdom of Magic~’ or something? Why don’t you say it again?”

I laughed as I held Durandal in reverse grip, poking and prodding Rübitz’s body all over. With each thrust and pull of the blade, Rübitz squirmed like a fish on a cutting board, spurting blood everywhere.

“Ending up like this, huh? You were all talk, weren’t you?”

“Geeeeeek…! Gr-Grimnir-samaaaa! Why, kyaaaah! Whyyyy!”

“Maybe because your Grimnir is just that much of a moronic god? The God of Magic? Sounds like a shady, evil deity from the get-go. Believing in that kind of trash is why you ended up like this. Why don’t you believe in Elpinel instead? They say if you believe in her, all your pains go *poof* and everything just works out.”

Not that I believe in her.

It was borderline blasphemy, not something you’d say in front of other religious folks, but to me, this Grimnir that Rübitz believed in was just too suspicious. I mean, they have a lunatic who drains his subordinates’ mana as a Cardinal.

Anyway, I spent a good while poking and prodding Rübitz’s body. I enjoyed watching him scream every time I thrust and pulled out the long, hard object.

Of course, I wasn’t just doing this cruel act to relieve stress. Sure, it felt good to vent my anger with each stab, but that was just a side effect. I had another purpose.

“Kyaaaah! You b*tch, you b*tch!”

“Yeah, keep screaming. You can’t use magic while impaled by Jin’s Silver Sword, and your Healing Miracle can only keep you barely alive. What now? No way to resist, huh? No brilliant plans popping up in that so-called Wisdom of Magic?”

For a warrior, losing limbs would mean complete incapacitation, but he was a priest and a magician. Even if he had a shred of strength left, he could still make a last-ditch effort with just his torso.

“Kyaaaah!”

“Guess not. The Wisdom of Magic isn’t all that impressive.”

So, I was making sure he couldn’t even make that last-ditch effort.

“Anyway, there’s a lot I want to ask you, but it’s not exactly convenient. With your level of skill, even if I cut off your arms and pulled out your tongue, you could still use magic or miracles once you recovered. Plus, it seems you’ve sent people after my companions, so I need to check on them too.”

I doubt Lacey, Agnes, Milia, and Damien would lose, but I should still check.

“So, let me ask you one thing.”

I thrust the blade into Rübitz’s abdomen and twisted it, leaning in close to his face to lock eyes.

“Why did you attack me?”

The question that had been bugging me till the end.

“I just don’t get it. Why go this far to kill me? To cover up your mess? To weaken the Elpinel Church Order? Or just because you didn’t like me? Swear on Elpinel’s name, and if you answer honestly, I’ll make it painless.”

“Keh…! Kueuk…! So… that’s what you’re curious about…?”

Rübitz, with a twisted face, spat out blood and grinned through trembling lips.

…He’s laughing in this situation?

“Then stay curious forever.”

Those were his last words.

With a *splat*, Rübitz’s head exploded in all directions. Even if I brought ten Laceys, there’d be no way to recover him. It was a suicide I couldn’t have anticipated.

“Ah, seriously. This damn brat till the end…!”

I got hit by a bolt out of the blue for sticking my head in.

I never expected him to blow his own head off. He really got me good till the very end.

I wiped the brain fragments off my face and kicked his body roughly. The headless, hole-riddled corpse exploded, scattering organs everywhere.

—

After turning Rübitz into minced meat, I sat on the fragments of the altar, wiping the blood off my face and catching my breath.

I wanted to go check on my companions immediately, but my exhausted body was begging for a break.

“Phew…”

I won, but it wasn’t an easy fight.

My left arm was twisted, my legs were trembling, and my body was covered in cuts and bruises. The cigarette smoke I inhaled even tasted like blood.

It was a fierce battle where I used every bit of magic I knew. The underground prayer room, once a place of both ominous and holy energy, was now a wasteland resembling a nuclear war zone. Indistinguishable chunks of meat were smeared all over the walls.

If I had slipped up even a little, I would’ve ended up like that too. Without Asha’s armor, I wouldn’t have survived.

I thanked Asha and Ryu-rik for this amazing armor, stroking the regenerating fur leather. Armor that repairs itself even when torn apart—there’s nothing more convenient for someone like me who destroys armor in every fight.

The Black Iron Scales, thicker and sturdier than before, had a few cracks but no completely shattered pieces. In terms of defense, it might rival the Holy Armor of a hero.

“Ah, are you done…? As expected of Princess Ha-shal-leur! I knew you’d win easily!”

While I was lost in thought and smoking, Hersh, covered in blood, sneaked out from the back passage of the prayer room and waved.

Now that I think about it, I won thanks to her. She didn’t bring reinforcements as I ordered, but instead, she found and destroyed the source of Rübitz’s mana.

“It wasn’t an easy win… but yeah, I won. So, what exactly did you do to come out from there? What happened to the others?”

“Ah, well, you see…”

Hersh, who had approached me, explained what had happened.

“…So, those brats were draining life force from the poor to use as mana?”

“Probably. I’m not sure exactly how, but they had these tattoos on their foreheads and were extracting something invisible.”

Hersh drew three triangles with her finger.

…That’s the Soul Extraction Technique symbol. So, these brats were using the souls of the poor as fuel for their mana…!

I really feel like I let them off too easy. These lunatics, talking about the Wisdom of Magic while doing this…!

But more importantly.

“So, what about the poor?”

“Well… unfortunately, they’re all dead. Even before their life force was drained, their egos were already shattered. They were just breathing corpses.”

Hersh bowed her head slightly as she delivered the news. Judging by her hesitation, it was clear what had happened.

“Sigh… So, they’re all dead, huh?”

I exhaled a puff of cigarette smoke and lowered my head. So, she turned the living corpses into actual corpses.

I could roughly guess what happened.

Considering how panicked Rübitz was when the Eternal Spring was destroyed, there should’ve been plenty of time before the poor’s souls were completely drained. My strength would’ve given out first.

But because Hersh killed all the poor who were still breathing… the power source ran out, and the ability automatically broke. That’s how I won.

“Sigh…”

I let out another sigh. Should I scold her or praise her? I’m not sure.

It definitely wasn’t the right thing to do. For my victory, she ruthlessly ended the lives of at least hundreds.

But.

It wasn’t the right thing, but…

If Hersh hadn’t killed them, I would’ve lost to Rübitz’s magic.

And Rübitz would’ve killed the rest of my companions.

No matter how I think about it, those poor people had no chance of survival. From the very beginning.

They were doomed to die. And not just die, but have their souls drained.

Is it fair to scold her for killing them a little sooner, albeit more peacefully?

It’s a really ambiguous issue. Given the situation, Hersh had no choice but to kill them.

No choice… Yeah, it’s always like that. Always a series of unavoidable events. Damn it.

I roughly flicked off the cigarette ash and composed myself. It’s not something I can call a good deed, but… at least, as someone whose life was saved by her, it’s not my place to interrogate her.

Killing the poor was, in her mind, the most certain method. Having lived in the underworld all her life, her way of thinking is bound to be different. It’s something we can work on fixing over time.

It’ll get better someday.

So… let’s let it slide this time. That’s what I decided.

Of course, I should still give her a bit of advice. It’d be problematic if this keeps happening.

“Sigh… You shouldn’t kill people so recklessly. Even if they were living corpses, whether they truly had no hope or not isn’t something you can judge.”

“Ah, uh… that, that’s…”

Hersh’s face turned a bit pale. Did she think I was scolding her?

I chuckled and stomped out the cigarette, then patted her head as she stood there stiffly.

“Well… thanks to you, I’m alive. Thank you.”

“Eek…! Ah, uh. Yes, yes! I’ll be more careful from now on!”

Hersh, who had been trembling while looking at my hand, finally relaxed and nodded vigorously. Did she think I was going to hit her? Anyone watching would think I’m some cruel slave owner.

“Good. That’s enough. You’re not badly hurt, are you? Then let’s head to the hideout. I doubt they’d lose, but just in case.”

“Yes!”

“…Before we go, brush off the blood on your clothes.”

I shrugged and got up, heading towards the passage Hersh had come from. The original entrance had collapsed long ago.

—

“Um… by the way, Princess Ha-shal-leur. Can I ask you one thing?”

“What is it?”

“Well… you said you won thanks to me. And you thanked me. So, um, is there any, you know, reward…? It’s not exactly a success, but like, freeing me from my slave status as promised…”

Ah, right, I did promise that. Hah. Back then, I never imagined things would get this messy.

“Well… I’ll see how you do from now on.”

“Ahhh, how could you…!”

Hersh’s jaw dropped in shock. Despite being physically exhausted and mentally drained, her expression was so funny I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Just kidding. I can’t set you completely free, but I’ll remove your slave brand. If you want, I’ll even give you a salary. For now, that should satisfy you.”

“Yes! Thank you!”

Hersh bowed deeply.

Is being freed from a nominal slave status really that joyful? If she had a tail, it’d be wagging like crazy.

With that, we left the cathedral and headed towards the clothing store where our companions were waiting. If they were still fighting, I planned to lend a hand.

—

*Thud!*

The expected battle didn’t happen. What greeted us upon arriving at the hideout was the sight of the last remaining paladin being split in half by Damien’s greatsword.