Chapter 496

“Hehe. The stench of females is strong, seems like a bunch of women have gathered! Tonight is going to be… Wait, what the hell is this?!”

“People?! Are these people?!”

The cultist, who had been walking in with a sinister grin, was shocked and stepped back upon seeing the human centipede.

Well, I guess even for those who enjoy rape, murder, and human sacrifice, the sight of a dozen humans linked together, trembling and shaking, must be shocking.

Taking advantage of their hesitation, I gave orders to my group.

“Everyone, fall back to the carriage! Nigel and Leonor, focus on the attack! Lacey and Agnes, concentrate on defense!”

“Understood. Be careful, Sir Median!”

Five master-level warriors. Three high-level magicians. And, clearly, a presence surpassing even a master was rapidly approaching.

Probably the core of the cultists gathered here. Whether it’s Belcus, Eljure, or someone else, we won’t know until we see their face.

Anyway, except for me and Seilon, the rest will have to fight close together, covering each other. Even if their skills are hastily boosted by the evil god’s blessing, their lack of experience won’t make much difference in attack power.

“Seilon, you have the Golden Barrier, right? Can you use it to push the women to the back?”

“Possible. I’ll protect them and then join you!”

Seilon nodded quickly and moved swiftly. Once the real fight starts, protecting them will be tricky. So, we need to move them out of reach before that.

“Good, hold on tight!”

I turned my gaze back to the enemies and lowered my stance. My thighs, filled with power, became as hard as steel, and the engraved Durandal in my hand glowed golden.

A familiar smell hit my nose. The scent of men and women, night flowers, the stench of blood, and the acrid smell of gunpowder and rot.

**The smell of monsters.**

– Kwaaaang!

I shot towards them, shattering the marble floor beneath. My vision stretched, and an ugly face came close.

Damn, you’re ugly.

The presumed leaders wore masks made from human skulls, and the skin revealed through the cracks was as bumpy as a toad with leprosy.

“Gasp…!”

The cultist leader, startled by our eye contact, swung his axe. A master’s reaction speed. No, even faster than those who just became masters.

As expected, the smell I just caught wasn’t a mistake. The stench of monsters was strong.

“What are you?”

I swung Durandal diagonally, charging forward. The blade, rising diagonally, clashed with the axe, producing a loud noise.

– Kaaaang!

The black iron axe blade sparked and dug in, and the man’s right foot, reflexively kicked, was caught as if blocked by an ice blade.

“Huh…?”

The man, not expecting a perfect block, widened his eyes in panic.

I firmly grabbed his foot and spoke again.

“I asked, what are you? What are you doing, reeking of monsters?”

For a moment, I remembered the insect knights Isabella created… but this was completely different.

While the insect knights were just parasitic monsters wearing human skin, these guys in front of me felt like humans mixed with monsters.

But not quite like demons.

What is this? Did the Dream Paradise Society or Invidia have such guys? I don’t remember. Did they ally with other cultists? Those… what were they called… the Eternal Ascensionists or something?

“You bitch…!”

While I was pondering, the man whose leg I held raised his left arm over his shoulder, as if to slap my cheek.

– Crack!

The next moment, the leather gauntlet covering his left hand tore apart, and a crab-like claw emerged.

“Let go!”

The man swung his left arm. The dark, chitinous claw with sharp pincers. Clearly not a human arm.

“Answer me!”

I pulled Durandal, embedded in the axe, and struck the claw aiming for my head with the hilt.

The sound of wood crushing. The man’s left arm shattered into pieces.

“Gyaaaak!”

The flesh inside the chitin splattered everywhere. The black, glistening flesh. Definitely monster flesh.

[What is this guy? Only one arm is a monster, how bizarre.]

‘Right. Did they attach a monster’s arm or something?’

I kicked the man, who was screaming and bleeding black blood, away, and leaned back to dodge the tentacles flying from both sides.

Two thick tentacles writhed like snakes in the air. About as thick as my wrist. Murky brown and glistening.

Did these guys also transplant monster parts?

The left guy’s tentacle was wet and seemed to have come from his tongue, and the right guy’s tentacle…

“Where did you get this disgusting thing?!”

Overcome with a surge of physiological disgust, I grimaced and drew a dagger, cutting off the right guy’s tentacle.

“Kueeeak!”

The man whose tentacle was cut screamed in agony, clutching his groin and collapsing. If the sensation was connected, it must be quite painful. He was practically castrated.

– Thud!

The brown tentacle, limp like a middle-aged man’s confidence, lay sprawled. Bubbles rose from the severed end, and the cut tip slowly began to rise and writhe.

[How ugly.]

Right. Damn disgusting.

– Crack!

I wanted to stomp and crush it, but I had to give up as the left guy’s tongue flew at me again.

Less disgusting than the right guy, but still pretty gross.

I stepped back a few steps to dodge the whip-like tongue. The missed tentacle struck the ground, leaving a deep scar on the marble floor.

—

A brief skirmish. I was unharmed but felt an indescribable discomfort, while two of them were injured, though not severely.

The man with a broken weapon and left arm struggled to get up, a deep footprint on his belly, and the guy with a tentacle in his mouth moved to protect the other tentacle guy, who was half-castrated.

The other five had been fighting my companions since the battle began.

Well, ‘fighting’ might not be the right word.

Two leaders, targeting the carriage with their subordinates, were engaged in close combat with Nigel and Leonor, revealing their monstrous forms, while the other three were being beaten like dogs by Seilon.

“How utterly grotesque! Filth of whores who fornicated with monsters. Even hell won’t welcome you!”

Truly a paladin of Astraea. No one can match her skill in beating monsters. I could rest easy on that side.

I exhaled lightly, straightened my posture, and aimed Durandal at the crab-arm and tentacle guys.

“Black hair and blue eyes…! Could it be…!”

“The Winter Slayer, Ha-shal-leur…! Then that paladin must be Judge Seilon!”

Finally realizing our identities, the three cockroaches in front of us burst into shock.

Thanks to slaughtering all the fleeing minions, they hadn’t known who the attackers were until now.

Well, if they had known, they would have run the other way.

“The rumor that Seilon of the Giant Cock and the whore of two fathers are lovers is true…?!”

Giant cock what?

I almost dropped Durandal.

The first words were so absurd that the insult didn’t even register.

Seilon of the Giant Cock? Just hearing it makes me dizzy. Whoever came up with that nickname must be in the basement of Astraea Cathedral by now.

[What, what are they saying?! Lovers? Did they say lovers? You and that unknown man?! What the hell is that supposed to mean?!]

Even Hersela, who had been quietly watching, started freaking out at the word ‘lovers.’ In my head.

Damn, I knew this would happen, so I planned to explain later.

[Explain, explain! Now that I think about it, that man is definitely a paladin of Astraea! Your Holy Mark is also from Astraea! Did you, did you sell your body to that guy to get the Holy Mark?!]

What are you talking about? Does that even make sense? If sleeping with a paladin gave you a Holy Mark, these guys would all have Shaulite’s marks.

Apparently, the word ‘lovers’ was so shocking that Hersela’s intelligence dropped to that of a monkey.

If I answered that we were really lovers, she’d probably devolve into a goldfish.

[You, how could you…! Even if you wield my body as you please, I trusted you not to do such nonsense, but you betray my trust like this? Your skills and looks are passable, but how dare you get involved with such a man without my permission…!]

…Skills and looks are passable, huh? That’s an unexpected evaluation.

If it were a more relaxed situation, I might have joked around with this… but I’ll have to give up on that.

I’m not in the mood for jokes, and with her freaking out in my head during battle, my concentration would be disrupted.

‘It’s not like that. We just traveled together to catch heretics, and rumors spread. Like with Leopold, remember? I’ll explain properly later, so calm down now.’

I explained briefly to calm Hersela down.

I didn’t lie. I just omitted that I was the one who started the rumors. If I told her, the story would have gone on forever.

[You must explain later…!]

‘Yeah, yeah. By the way, you have some explaining to do too, right? Let’s talk then.’

Come to think of it, I also had some questions for Hersela.

I needed to hear why she hid the fact that she could temporarily take control of my body and that she had realized the Heroic Tale.

Not that I suspected her of trying to backstab me, but I needed to know for sure. Who knows when she might do something like that again.

[……]

Finally, she’s quiet. Hersela, who had been freaking out, finally shut up. She must have agreed that now wasn’t the time for this conversation.

I sharpened my scattered focus and aimed Durandal at the three leaders, who were slowly backing away upon realizing my identity, while adjusting my stance.

Bracing for the intense presence approaching nearby.

“Who-! Is oppressing my followers-!”

…What a booming voice. A roar like an angry tiger. A beast-like aura rushed in.

“The Guide is here!”

“The Guide has arrived!”

The three leaders’ faces lit up instantly. To make such expressions even with me in front of them… they must really trust this ‘Guide,’ huh?

Let’s see if they can keep that expression after I rip his limbs off.

I gripped Durandal with both hands and spread the Power of Feats throughout my body. The acrid smell of dark magic intensified, and the next moment—

– Kwaaaaang!

The ground in front of the leaders exploded, and a giant shrouded in black magic surged up.

“Kyaaaak!”

Immediately, I thrust Durandal towards his chest.

A strike compressed in time. The Reverse Heaven’s sword pierced his heart without hesitation.

A black blood spray erupted.