Chapter 500

– KUUUUUNG!

Dust rises like a wave, obscuring vision. The impact of the fall, combined with my strength, delivers a decapitating blow like a guillotine. The entire cathedral shakes as the force of the strike is concentrated into Durandal’s blade.

The once-proud scales of the dragon are rendered meaningless as Diraid’s neck fails to withstand the force and is cleanly severed. A spray of blood from his neck stains the shattered marble black.

I leap into the air, grabbing Diraid’s head with my left hand, and as I cut through the tentacles wrapping around me, I land on the ground.

“L-Leader!”

Both allies and enemies alike focus their gaze on me. The decisive battle between leaders, which could determine their fates, has finally come to an end.

“No, noooooo!”

The cultists of the Eternal Ascension Order wail in despair, their faces twisted as if the heavens had collapsed. Unlike the ragtag group they had gathered, their elite soldiers seemed to have genuinely believed in the doctrine of the Eternal Ascension Order.

As dozens of eyes focus on the headless Diraid, Nigel is the only one who doesn’t turn to look. She knows full well that there’s no way I could lose to such a foe, so she remains focused on her own duties, unfazed by what’s happening beside her.

– THWACK!

With a lightning-fast thrust, she pierces the head of one officer, while simultaneously drawing a longsword with her left hand to slash through another. The officers pay the price for diverting their attention, losing their lives in an instant.

“GYAAAAAAAH!”

A half-split humanoid jellyfish screams in agony. Leonor, snapping out of her daze at the creature’s wail, swiftly cuts through its tentacles with a flurry of strikes.

– CRUNCH!

Seilon’s judgment comes down on the jellyfish’s head, which bursts like a watermelon. The battle at the Shaulite Cathedral was over.

…Well, almost over.

“GHEEEEEK! KERUK! KARRRRRK!”

The headless body of Diraid thrashes around like a rabid dog. Dozens of monster mouths emerge from between the scales, their grotesque forms resembling human mouths, insect mandibles, and the maws of fish and beasts. It was as if every conceivable creature’s mouth had been gathered into one.

“Still alive after this…? You’re really disgustingly tough.”

I let out a hollow laugh as I watch his convulsions. Even Ryu-rik wasn’t this resilient after having his head cut off by Durandal.

Of course, this wasn’t so much “alive” as it was the monster’s body desperately trying to find a replacement for its lost head.

Unlike the thrashing body, the head in my hand remains eerily still. If Diraid’s consciousness were still alive, at least his eyes would have blinked.

Either way, I couldn’t just leave the body thrashing around like that.

– SQUISH.

I first dig my fingers into the severed neck, tearing through the flesh. Despite the scales protecting the surface, the inside is just human bone and muscle. My fingers crush through the skull, turning the brain and nerves into a mushy, jelly-like mess.

The skull, eyes, brain, and nerves are all mashed together, oozing out like sticky jelly. Not even the Saintess of Shaulite could restore a head in this state.

“KRULAK! GORUK! DGYAAAAK! MEEEEEEK!”

After tossing the pulverized head aside like trash, I crouch down toward Diraid’s still-thrashing body.

Though his left arm flails wildly, without a head, he can’t even lift himself, flailing at the air like a toddler throwing a tantrum for a toy.

I plunge an ice blade into his neck.

– SHUNK!

“GWEEEEEEK!”

The body stiffens and trembles like a dog struck by a club. The curse within the ice blade, the cold of the underworld, begins to seep into his flesh, draining his life force.

The curse, which had little effect on me after gaining the rune of fire, was perfect for finishing off such creatures. Most enemies would explode upon being struck by the ice blade, but for something like this, it was just right.

Before long, Diraid’s body slumps, exhaling its final breath.

—

After dealing with the cultists of the Eternal Ascension Order, we had no choice but to keep the women of the Shaulite Order unconscious.

Though they could use miracles of mental protection to shield themselves from brainwashing once they regained consciousness… it was doubtful they would have the will to do so.

Considering what had happened here, it wouldn’t be surprising if they all committed suicide upon waking up.

We moved the unconscious women to a corner of the prayer room, sitting them in an undamaged spot, and covered their bodies with curtains we cut from the room.

While moving the women, I asked Nigel to ensure Rana didn’t leave the carriage.

She likely already knew what had happened, but seeing the faces of those she had been close to among the victims would be too much of a shock.

“Wouldn’t it be better for her to get used to it? If you plan to keep her with us…”

“There’s no need for her to get used to such scenes. What I expect from Rana is growth as a skilled healing priest, not training her to be some kind of heretic inquisitor.”

I rejected Nigel’s suggestion. A battlefield drenched in blood was one thing, but getting used to the sight of old acquaintances being violated? No.

“…It’s tragic. To think this is the end for those who served their god with such fervor. Even Shaulite seems indifferent.”

Leonor muttered bitterly as she looked down at the women, leaning against each other in unconsciousness.

Even Lacey, who would normally scold such blasphemous words, remained silent. The hellish ordeal the Shaulite followers had endured laid bare the limits of the gods.

The gods of this world blessed people but were not beings who offered salvation.

…Perhaps they couldn’t offer salvation.

Unable to do it themselves, they blessed agents with holy marks and authority to take on the task instead. Telling people like us to save others.

—

After organizing the prayer room, I left the others with the women and headed deeper into the cathedral with Lacey.

We were searching for the missing male followers and any remaining cultists of the Eternal Ascension Order to eliminate them.

Though our forces were split, it wasn’t a major issue. Even if Belcus or Eljure appeared, Seilon, Leonor, Nigel, and Agnes wouldn’t be easily overwhelmed.

We weren’t going far, so if we heard the sounds of battle, we could return immediately.

“The flow of magi… it’s heading underground. The cult leader also emerged from below. We should start our investigation there.”

“Got it. Hop on. We need to hurry.”

I turned my armored back to Lacey and slightly crouched.

We didn’t have time to waste matching her pace. Lacey and Agnes’s holy power was continuously being drained by the mental protection miracle, and outside the cathedral, there were still plenty of other cultists.

Understanding this, Lacey climbed onto my back without hesitation.

“Then we should first find the entrance to the basement. I think…”

“Why bother finding it?”

“Huh?”

Why search for an entrance when you can make one? I firmly secured Lacey’s thighs and raised my right foot high before stomping down vertically.

– CRASH!

The ground collapses. The first floor of the cathedral shatters into pieces, cascading into the basement. We follow.

“KYAAAAH!”

Startled by the sudden fall, Lacey lets out a short scream and tightly wraps her arms around my neck. So tight that if I relaxed my neck muscles, I’d suffocate.

I stiffen my neck muscles, deflecting the falling debris as we crash onto the basement corridor with a heavy thud.

“…Next time, give me a heads-up.”

Embarrassed by her scream, Lacey grumbles. Though it was only a few meters, for a non-combatant like her, it was a startling fall.

The basement corridor was darker than expected. Torches hung on the walls, but their flames had long since died, and the swirling magi formed a black fog that obstructed our vision.

Lacey tried to create a small sphere of divine light to illuminate the area, but the pure white orb was quickly extinguished by the magi.

“With this much magi… we need to be careful. The mental protection miracle won’t last long here.”

Clutching her holy symbol, Lacey casts two miracles on us: ‘White Night’ to protect our minds from brainwashing and ‘Heavenly Blessing’ to enhance our physical abilities and block the magi’s intrusion. The pure white divine light envelops our bodies, sizzling and slowly dissipating as it comes into contact with the magi.

I carry her on my back and run in the direction where the magi grows denser.

[ If you’re looking for the priests, shouldn’t you go the other way? With this much magi, if they were kept here, they wouldn’t be alive. ]

Hersela makes a reasonable point, but I have no intention of following it.

‘That’s a problem for later. First, we need to identify the source of this magi.’

From the moment I sensed the magi upon landing in the basement, my priorities had shifted.

Rescuing the priests was important, but honestly, leaving them be wouldn’t be a big issue. With the cultists of the Eternal Ascension Order dealt with, the priests’ lives were no longer in danger.

Instead, identifying the source of this magi was several times more critical.

The density of the magi here was incomparable to a few monsters appearing. A place emitting this much magi undoubtedly hid a core facility or a secret the cultists had been concealing.

Thus, with Lacey’s blessings, I ran at a speed far surpassing that of a racehorse until…

I finally laid eyes on the source of the magi filling the cathedral’s basement.

—

“My god…! Elpinel, what is this…!”

As if speaking for me, who was at a loss for words, Lacey covered her mouth with both hands in shock.

In the depths of this floor’s circular prison.

Surrounding a central cavity, the prison cells held the unconscious followers we had been searching for, but neither Lacey nor I paid them any attention. Our eyes were glued to the abomination at the center.

– HOOOOK… HOOOOOK…

The breathing of impossibly fat human pigs couldn’t compare to this. On the ground, covered in intricate magic circles, a mass of flesh the size of dozens of people writhed, emitting magi.

It looked more like a collection of internal organs than a living creature, but it was undoubtedly alive.

A triangular body resembling a bicycle seat. The elongated end was bloated with flesh, while the opposite, wider side gaped open like a funnel toward the sky.

Inside, a boiling, dark red liquid filled the space, with unidentified masses of flesh floating on its viscous surface.

Long tentacles extended from the edges of the wide side, reaching down to the floor, their ends opening and closing like the maws of a Venus flytrap.

[ …What is that? ]

‘Who knows…? A giant womb…?’

Aside from its enormous size, the shape was familiar. If you extracted a uterus, removed the ovaries, and cut open the top to expose the inside, it would look something like that.

Whatever it was, its form suggested it was an organ meant to “give birth” to something.

As for its exact purpose… we’d have to find out.