Chapter 251

No time to feel guilt, no time to think of words to spit out.

If they charge again, it’ll be nothing but disaster.

Seeing them trembling, gritting their teeth, and staring at me, it doesn’t seem like it’ll take long.

What’s the reason? What’s driving you all to rush into this pit of fire?

I extinguish the flames and shout loudly.

“Why are you fighting?! What does this war mean to you?! A fight you can’t win, a fight that’ll send you to hell even if you do win! Drop your weapons and surrender! I swear on my name, I’ll guarantee the safety of those who surrender! Return to your original lives!”

“What are you doing?! Charge! It’s just one person! There’s no way they can stop all of us…!”

The dagger I threw smashed the guy’s head like a watermelon.

The one inciting tens of thousands to their deaths. No way he’s innocent.

“Ugh…!”

Some soldiers, their brains splattered, trembled in horror.

Seeing them like this, it doesn’t seem like they’re under some drug-induced madness. What’s the reason?

“Why! I asked why you’re fighting!! You’re not even soldiers, let alone warriors!”

The ground crumbled under the force of my strike.

Like a bomb had gone off, the earth erupted with a deafening roar.

**”Answer me—!”**

The surroundings shook as if an earthquake had struck.

The conscript soldiers, unable to withstand the shockwave, lost their balance and fell.

And then.

*”Why are you so angry?”*

A voice that shouldn’t be here responded.

—

This voice… could it be…?!

A sweet, seductive laugh, dripping with thick allure.

I could never forget it. I could never forget!

“Isabella…!”

“What are you trying to do, stepping forward alone? Did you really think knowing the reason would stop the battle?”

The witch, Isabella Benes.

She was speaking directly to me, borrowing the mouth of one of the soldiers.

Probably a soldier meant for this purpose from the start.

His eyes were unfocused, his face expressionless, just standing still.

Even the skin on his neck was twitching, as if something was about to burst out.

I could guess—a parasite had eaten through his vocal cords and was now speaking.

“Fufu… You’re acting like a saint, so unlike you.”

“You’re acting like a bug—no, a filthy parasite…!”

Hearing the mastermind spout such nonsense, I felt my blood boil.

Cutting down the possessed soldier here would be pointless, so I stayed still.

“Just as you follow Elpinel’s nonsense, I faithfully serve my god. Isn’t it similar?”

Similar, my foot.

Is theft just unlicensed transportation? What kind of nonsense is that?

“…Stop reeking of fish sauce and stay quietly in your lair. Soon, you’ll need permission just to open your mouth.”

“Such a barbaric mouth you have. I came because you were curious about the reason, thinking I’d tell you. Here, look.”

With a sickening crack, the man’s neck twisted backward.

Black miasma flowed out of his gaping mouth like a cloud.

“This miasma…! So it was you, Isabella Benes!”

“Elpinel! Grant me the strength to destroy this evil!”

“In the name of Astraea, the scales of justice!”

The paladins, who had just arrived, gasped and prepared for battle.

A rainbow of holy light enveloped their bodies, shining brightly.

“What are you trying to do, Isabella!”

“No need to be so surprised. I’m just showing you something.”

Isabella chuckled lightly and murmured as if singing.

*Speculum.*

Mirror.

*Saltare, Saltare.*

Dance, dance.

*Inclina et salta sicut fumus.*

Sway and dance like smoke.

*Somnia tua terribilia mitte illic.*

Send your terrible dreams beyond.

*Luceant umbrae et dispersae.*

Let the shadows shine and scatter.

An incomprehensible language. With each verse, the flow of miasma writhed, forming geometric patterns.

A shadow unfolded in the air.

“What kind of trick is this?!”

In desperation, I threw a dagger, piercing the soldier’s throat.

Through the torn throat, the shattered remains of the parasite oozed fluid.

“Ugh…ugh…pointless…what you’re…doing…”

A voice full of static, like a broken radio.

Even though the parasite delivering the message was already dead, the witch’s song didn’t stop.

“Paladins! Defensive stance! Deploy the anti-magic barrier!”

The paladins hastily raised a holy barrier before us.

The sacred barrier, meant to block magical energy, seemed effective against the miasma.

Isabella had said it wasn’t an offensive spell, but no one trusted a witch’s words.

But…it wasn’t an offensive spell.

The shadow of miasma unfolded like a mirror, reflecting something.

As if a giant projector had been placed in the air.

What it showed was—

“Good heavens…Shaulites!”

“How could you do this…! Aren’t you afraid of divine punishment?!”

“Despicable witch! Elpinel’s holy flames will burn you for eternity!”

Rage, shock, hatred.

The paladins, furious like a blazing fire, hurled curses at Isabella.

So this was it…!

This is why the conscript soldiers rushed to their deaths…!

A silent scene of hell unfolding.

In a dark, cave-like space, a temple-like structure stood alone.

—

In the cave, writhing like waves, tens of thousands…perhaps hundreds of thousands of bugs filled the space, crawling everywhere.

Some with wings flew around.

Only two kinds of beings were there: bugs, or people.

Thousands of people, buried in a sea of bugs, screamed as their bodies were devoured.

No young men or women, only very young boys and elderly men.

A centipede-like monster dug into their eyes, eating their brains—

Thousands of moth-like bugs cling to the body of a child, about three years old, gnawing away at their flesh.

Countless holes pierce the trembling body of the young boy, and from each hole, finger-sized maggots wriggle out.

Monsters resembling stag beetles, bugs resembling mantises, and countless other giant bugs playfully tear people apart and carry the pieces to their mouths.

It was a scene no different from a feast for insects.

—

“Y-you crazy bug bitch…!”

Words fail to come out.

The raw, hellish landscape is so overwhelming that even thought seems to freeze.

“The women are busy with other things… Should I show you that too?”

The bug, mimicking a vocal cord, mocks with a clear voice.

In the next moment, the screen flickers and shifts from feeding to breeding.

It was hell, just in a different direction.

Bug monsters, dogs, pigs, horses—every kind of beast.

In a pen where every male except humans is gathered, a frenzy of a banquet unfolds.

A breeding ground where conception to birth takes less than five minutes.

Violated, their bellies swell instantly, give birth, and are violated again.

And then, the monsters tear through the mothers’ bellies, devouring them.

Drugged and magically broken, the women wear expressions of ecstasy, but the sight alone is enough to make one nauseous.

Even the knights, who endured the sight of people being eaten, bent over and vomited.

“A bit embarrassing for a virgin, isn’t it… How about it?”

“Isabellaaaaa! You damn whore!”

I’ll kill her.

No. Not just kill.

Death alone isn’t enough, not nearly enough!

“I’ll make that stinking mouth of yours beg for death!”

Boundless rage surges.

Deep, very deep emotions burst forth, dyeing my vision red.

The overwhelming force of Life Force engulfs everything.

“You’re so rude to get angry after I kindly answered your questions. Well, no matter. Do your best, alright?”

Yeah, I don’t need you to tell me!

Keep smiling so shamelessly.

You think you’re invincible with your near-immortality?

I’ll prove how wrong you are…!

“And what are you all doing? Why are you standing still? Fight. Otherwise, your families will end up like those prey over there.”

“Stop talking nonsense-!”

The surging Life Force crashes into a conscript soldier infested with bugs.

With a sickening crunch, the man’s body is erased from the world.

“Ugh… ughhhh!”

The half-crazed conscript soldiers glare at me, gritting their teeth.

Ready to charge at any moment.

“Get a grip! Do you really believe the words of that crazy devil?! Even if you fight, there’s no way your families would be safe!”

Yeah, they can’t be alive.

If Isabella moved the conscripts by taking hostages and treating them cruelly, the effect of the hostages would end the moment they were sent to the battlefield.

After that, would she have let them go?

Nearly 80,000 humans. A number too troublesome to manage, too hard to gather?

No way.

She probably killed them all, as sacrifices to the evil god.

“That, that’s not something we know! My mom can’t be dead!”

A boy, drenched in tears, jumps up and runs toward me.

His determined scream is sharp.

“Yeah, damn it! She’s alive! She must still be alive!”

“Hans. Raymi. Anna…!”

Following the boy, more and more people start running.

Like flames, like waves.

Yeah, this is a flow that can’t be stopped with words.

They’re not unaware of the truth; they’re in denial.

Acknowledging my words and stopping would mean accepting their families’ gruesome deaths, so they’ll never stop.

“Sir Median! It’s too late! Regrettably, we must join the main force and suppress…!”

The knights, admitting the irreversible situation, urge retreat.

Yeah, even if it’s just me, with that many people charging at once, the knights alone can’t hold them back.

“Damn it…!”

My teeth grind with hatred.

Clear loathing heats my brain.

“Isabella… Isabellaaaaaaah!”

With a roar, the unleashed power tears through everything.

The catastrophe is right before my eyes—

[Calm down! Or maybe not calming down is better…?! Anyway, listen to me! With this level of killing intent, if you can control it, you can stop them!]

Just before reaching the brink, Hersela urgently shouts.

With a confident voice, she says there’s still a way.

‘…What?’

[They dare to attack because you don’t harbor even a shred of killing intent toward them! Fill your heart with the intent to kill them, and instead of compressing the Life Force, spread it wide! Leave only the killing intent without form! Remember those who fainted at the sight of my face? The Life Force naturally brings fear and intimidation, so with this level of dense power, even timid farmers can be subdued!]

A radical and simple method.

But definitely worth a try.

I followed her words. Holding onto the last hope.

A dense killing intent blankets the battlefield.