Episode 415
I gave the prisoners, who seemed a bit worn out, a brief regrouping period.
These guys are acting like they’re on some kind of drug now, and they’re ready to fight at any moment…
This state of excitement only serves to temporarily forget the pain, and does not actually heal the injury.
Of course, once the excitement subsides, they may reverse their somewhat impulsive decision… … .
I thought that was better than dragging those bleeding guys to the battlefield.
Since there were no doctors present, the only treatment they could provide was simple first aid.
Stopping the bleeding, applying a splint, wrapping a bandage… … Of course, that’s better than not doing anything at all.
Anyway, I decided to use the free time I had secured wisely.
Finally, I made contact with Leone.
“Hey, bro. You’re alive.”
“You are the one. I didn’t think you would volunteer for the subjugation force against foreign races.”
“Well, I’m not really the type of person who’s obsessed with life, am I?”
“… … .”
I spoke indirectly, but I understood the underlying meaning.
For Leone, who uses Michael as a ‘puppet’, even death is not much of a threat.
“so…….”
Leone wiped away his playful expression and asked in a serious tone.
“… What on earth happened in the punishment cell?”
“It’s a bit long, if you ask me.”
“We don’t have much time, so please be brief.”
“hmm.”
I finally shared with Leone the incident that had occurred in the punishment cell.
The conversation I had with the leader at the top of the tower, Obi approaching me and his death leaving only questions, Gustav’s empathy and identity, and even the ‘game’ that happened right after…
The more he listened to the story, the more complicated Leone’s expression became.
“The Demon King… has already been summoned?”
“Yes. According to Sister Razbeth, it is an unstable summons… … .”
“… In that state, they ate everything from other species that they could get their hands on.”
Leone muttered, momentarily taken aback.
“I don’t understand. If you offer up a different race to the Demon King you summoned, your condition will only get worse. If you had only ‘consumed’ seven races, Hyung-ssi would not have been able to come to this place and would have died in the punishment cell.”
Leone looked unusually confused.
It was strange to see the guy who acted like he knew everything be flustered, but he was in no mood to tease me and was keeping his mouth shut.
Leone, who had been thinking for a moment, asked.
“Are you sure that Obi is a priest?”
“I don’t know about that. But he claimed that right before he died. I don’t know about the priest, but judging from the circumstances surrounding his death, he is definitely a believer.”
“Then, have you confirmed that Tangtata is dead?”
“I don’t know either. How can I know whether a being as great as the Demon King was truly destroyed or simply returned to Hell?”
Leone nodded, perhaps thinking that it made sense, but his face still had a look of doubt on it.
I didn’t really intend to burden you, but I realized I had missed something and said it again.
“There’s another strange thing.”
“what?”
“In the middle of it, the leader ordered all the followers in the labor camp to commit suicide. I was locked up in the punishment cell, so I couldn’t see the outside world, but what happened?”
“Ah… … . There was a mass suicide. I thought it was a sign of the Demon King’s coming.”
Those with weak minds will be worn down by even the slightest madness that comes with the foreboding phenomena of the Advent.
It was a reasonable guess for Leone, who was unaware of the situation at Jingbeol-dong.
“But that’s strange… … . The leader ordered the suicide? Why?”
“It was just nonsense I blurted out while we were talking. The cult leader accepted my nonsense as if he had been waiting for it.”
“so why?”
“I don’t know about that. But the cult leader wanted his own death, and he wanted me to attack Tangtata.”
“… That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
Leone also seemed to have no grasp of the situation.
I said it last.
“I stabbed the dagger you gave me into the leader’s body. In the meantime, I was playing with the Demon King, and when I happened to go up to the top floor again, all the leaders there were eaten by Tangtata.”
Leone’s expression became more and more strange as the story progressed.
I think you’ve figured out what I was trying to say by now, but I kept talking to myself so I could organize my thoughts.
“Here, I have a question. The ability of the Honwonbisu is to bind the leader so that his ‘consciousness’ cannot escape. Then, does that mean that the consciousness, which can be called the true body of the leader, is also bound to his body?”
“…That’s true.”
“Then, is it true that the leader who was eaten by the Demon King died in that state?”
“Yeah. He’s dead.”
He spoke in a hoarse voice, with a somewhat vain expression on his face.
“If that was really the true identity of the cult leader’s son, then he died like that. But… how could that be? That bastard wouldn’t die so easily.”
“… … .”
“There’s something missing. You and I, Delak and the Golden Ball, even the church is missing… … .”
I guess I wasn’t the only one who felt that things were going strangely.
Leone asked me with a stern face as he continued to organize his thoughts.
“How many followers did the leader order to commit suicide?”
“I’m not sure, but it was probably over 200 people. There were also a few priests.”
“The suicide of two hundred followers, his own death, the weakening of the Demon King… … .”
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Leone, who had been muttering to himself, had his expression hardened terribly, and a word suddenly popped out.
“… Could this be a ritual of killing a god?”
Shinsal ritual?
Before I could even ask.
Kurrururur… … !
A huge earthquake was felt.
An earthquake so loud that it felt like a giant giant bigger than Ymir was shaking the entire continent with both hands.
I shouted urgently, as the already unstable ceiling began to shake as if it would collapse at any moment.
“Outside! Get out of the cave right now!”
The prisoners who had just been receiving first aid staggered and ran toward the exit.
I was barely able to get out of the cave, supporting those who had fallen or had difficulty moving.
The scenery that greeted us as we finally emerged from the cave made my already uneasy feelings even more uncomfortable.
A dark landscape, faint screams and laughter, and an eerie chill.
I looked up at the sky and my expression quickly hardened.
‘f*ck… … .’
The sun was shining brightly in the center of the sky before entering the cave.
The sun was being swallowed up by a dark shadow.
* * *
“What the…? Why is the sky suddenly acting like this?”
“It must be night.”
“You idiot! The expedition started at dawn, how is it already night?”
I swallowed my sighs as I looked at the already half-eaten sun.
‘Japanese.’
A precursor to the advent of the Demon King.
The scorching heat of the desert cooled down in an instant. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels the unnatural chill.
At that moment, Leone started running. It was not a good atmosphere to talk to him.
Is the running direction towards Jipbeol-dong?
I followed after him, and the prisoners naturally followed along.
Kkieeeeeek!
During that time, we were also attacked by monsters.
As I was swinging Myeongryong-ah and counterattacking, I soon realized that their bodies were twisted and I also felt the sound of the instrument.
“Be careful! These contain musical instruments!”
The monsters in the workhouse were already ferocious, but now they’re even worse.
Hehehehehehehe!
The face of the swooping moth was much more human-like, and it let out a loud noise that hurt my ears.
The laughter did not stop even when the body was cut up.
Crunch.
I stepped on the face of the moth head, rendering it completely silent, and then continued forward.
Soon after, we arrived at the early punishment station and witnessed another strange sight.
“Didn’t you say the tower collapsed?”
“… That’s what happened.”
I answered Leone’s question in a trembling manner.
The collapsed tower was rebuilt beneath the unique, sunken terrain of Jingbeol-dong.
But it was very different from the tower I had last seen.
The tower had a pink surface, as if it were made of chunks of meat, and it pulsed as if it were alive.
But what if the top ended up like this?
‘Ludwig and Verita, who are the remaining survivors?’
Could it be that it’s in that tower?
This is the moment to think like that.
The sun that had been hanging at the top of the tower was finally completely swallowed up by a black shadow.
As if the only light had disappeared.
The surroundings became dark as if on a stage with a curtain drawn.
Phew.
The moment the cool breeze licked my cheek, a shape stirred on the roof of the tower.
It was quite a distance away and very dark, but I recognized the owner of the figure.
Demon King Tangtata.
The green-tongued angsin stood with a stiff face under the black sun.
‘That kid, was he alive?’
But the condition seems a bit strange.
Although he was originally large in size, he now looks rather bizarre.
I realized that it was because only this guy’s abdomen was abnormally distended.
Tangtata, who had been standing there dripping with cold sweat, suddenly started to freak out.
[Ah, ah, aah, ah, aah… … !]
He twisted his body with a gasping voice in pain, and his already distended abdomen swelled even more.
It looks like it might explode at any moment.
What on earth is going on?
And what the hell am I looking at?
While I was lost in thought, Tangtata suddenly burst into laughter with her eyes rolled back.
[K, kekekekekekeke… … .]
The mad being’s monologue continued, accompanied by unusual laughter.
[Oh, I’ve been hungry for a very, very long time… ]
The emotion in the voice was a vague, incongruous feeling.
Tangtata continued speaking in a mournful tone, as if reminiscing about a past filled with bittersweet memories.
[The long years of starvation… … . The feeling of fullness that I could never reach… … . Ha, but… not anymore… … . Ah… … !]
With a voice full of joy, Tangtata’s head, which had been trembling, snapped back.
[This, this… just, blessing… … .]
Soon, the thick musical sound that had been swirling throughout Tangtata’s body suddenly went out.
It’s not gone.
The scattered instruments soon began to condense into a certain location in the body.
The Dark Moon and the Fragrance Theater,
I could feel the trembling of the orchestra that was born to contain the instruments.
Phew!
A pale hand appeared, tearing open the green pear.
[… … !]
The sight.
It was, hands down, the most disgusting and horrific birth in the world.
As if trampling on the most beautiful and sacred act of all: the birth of life.
Or as if they were laughing at something like that, saying it has no value.
Evil gave birth to evil.
Those below the tower trembled.
I didn’t tremble, but I reflexively covered my mouth with the back of my hand to escape the harsh effects of the instrument.
Uduk, uduk, uduk… … .
Arms, shoulders, and legs.
Just as a spider that has broken an egg reveals its legs first, the being that pulled out its limbs finally revealed its face along with its body to the world.
A human being, entangled in blood and entrails, slowly rose from the disgusting pool.
“… … .”
Are you human?
It clearly looks like a human being.
But the pale skin, the retrograde eyes, the eyes without pupils, and the hair that hangs like seaweed.
It gave me an unpleasant feeling, as if I had witnessed another life form that closely resembled a human, rather than a human.
“Ha, ah, ah, ah───.”
An unpleasant sigh, abruptly interrupted my thoughts.
Only then did Leone let out a voice that sounded like he was chewing on something.
“Edonis… … .”
“…what?”
“That guy, that disgusting being, is the cult leader.”
That guy is a cult leader?
It looked completely different from the four entities I had witnessed.
But at first glance, the atmosphere seemed similar.
Leone raised the corners of his mouth, his teeth chattering. It was a forced smile that could be seen with a glance.
“Now I understand… … . You killed the god you believed in and usurped his place. You crazy bastard. Have you now abandoned your twisted faith? How much more must you insult the world before you feel satisfied?”
Only then did the leader’s gaze turn downward.
The corners of his eyes seemed to bend, and he pointed at Leone with his outstretched index finger.
For a moment, I thought I saw a purple halo.
Phew.
Leone’s head exploded and he fell down.
It was an instant death without any need to confirm life or death.
“… … .”
When I couldn’t even think of wiping the blood that had splashed on my face, the black cult leader covered my face with both palms as if he was washing my face dry.
That’s it… … .
There was a strange sound.
At least it’s not the sound that comes from skin and palm contact.
The sound of a blade being finely sharpened on a whetstone.
The leader swept his hair back with the palm of his hand that had been covering his face.
A graceful movement continued from the forehead to the crown and back of the head.
Thud, thud… … .
The hair was cut off like rags exposed to high temperatures.
I suddenly felt a contradictory sense of piety.
I heard that some monks shave their heads for religious reasons, and I felt as if I was seeing that kind of sight.
Meanwhile, everything that had happened so far flashed through my mind like a panorama.
Countless questions I’ve felt.
A strange rivalry between denominations.
The black cult leader who did not care about life and sincerely wished for his own death and the conquest of the Demon King.
Obi, the green-tongued priest who tried to betray the cult leader.
The will he left behind.
[God will die.]
Dead, not will die.
f*ck.
Why didn’t I realize this sooner?
What was written there was a clue to the plan for Shinsal that Obi could leave behind for the last time in this world.
‘ah.’
That’s what it was like.
Now I understand why Obi tried to betray the Black Cult Leader.
This was because he noticed that he was trying to kill his god, Tangtata, and usurp his position.
If so, then the competition between religious factions that took place in the workhouse was not to determine a winner, but to determine a loser… … .
The penalty the loser had to accept would have been the cruelest ending for the believers.
The death of the god you believe in.
Kiing-.
Soon, a strange pattern appeared on the head of the leader who had lost his hair.
The internal organs and blood flowing down his body began to writhe as if alive, and soon the clothes took shape.
The attire was reminiscent of a pious priest, but the dark colors stopped that feeling.
Above all, musical instruments.
The musical instruments the leader produced were of a kind I had never experienced before.
The leader opened his mouth.
[─Worship the birth of a new god.]
A voice that feels like your ear holes are being torn apart.
For a moment, my body felt as heavy as a thousand pounds and I almost fell to my knees.
I was barely able to hold on without breaking, but most of the prisoners here couldn’t.
They didn’t just kneel, they also lowered their heads.
At that moment, I saw golden eyes flashing under the eclipse.
It was Verita.
Has the body barely recovered?
It’s still a mess, but it looks a little better than when I last saw it.
In his hand he held a shabby sword, which seemed to have been picked up as a weapon used by guards or prisoners.
Before the blade I swung touched the leader’s body, I muttered.
“…no.”
Idiot. Run away.
And then Verita’s body split apart. Boom! In an instant, Verita’s body, which had become a lump of blood, fell to the ground and crashed.
[Omnipotent.]
The black cult leader let out a soft laugh and slowly opened and closed his palms repeatedly.
[This is what it feels like to become a god.]
“… … .”
[If you allow… … .]
The angel who had descended in full form spoke.
[Next, is there a moth that wants to die?]
