96 – Who are you?
“If it were Gregory… He would have gone to scout the border about an hour ago.”
That’s what a young man answered to the captain’s question about Gregory’s whereabouts.
The captain quickly nodded his head and spoke as if muttering.
“····Hmm. Then Gregory won’t be able to participate in the ceremony.”
“Yes. There are 2 hours left… Or should I just ask you to call me?”
“No, that’s enough. “We must remain on alert at all times.”
The captain said that and walked towards his quarters.
His accommodation was an ordinary wooden house, no different from any other member.
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However, there were many unusual items on his table that were different from those of ordinary members.
From unique weapons stolen from nobles, communication magic balls, magic scrolls, and various potions.
It was mainly filled with expensive valuables needed for battle.
-Sigh.
However, he picked up the most insignificant item among them.
A worn-out metal necklace.
But this necklace was the most precious item to him.
It is my wife’s last keepsake.
-Kwoowoouk····.
The captain held his necklace tightly and his shoulders trembled.
When he thinks about the moment he lost his wife, he still cannot control his body with anger.
Damn nobles.
These guys were the culprits of everything.
Because of Count Argier’s ridiculous profiteering, her life worsened, and in the end, she had no money to treat her sick wife, so she lost her in vain.
However, the captain did not sit idly by until his wife died.
He went to the government office and complained about his story in tears, and even went into his debt to get the precious regeneration potion and feed it to him.
But the government office had long since lost its function, and the regeneration potion was of no use in treating his wife’s illness.
After blocking Count En Argier’s carriage, he repeatedly pounded his head into the ground and cried out for his wife’s life, but in the end it only resulted in a group beating.
Because a lowly commoner dared to stand in the earl’s way.
‘Everything must be swept away…’
Just like that, the captain lost his wife.
And when his beloved daughter fell ill with the same disease as his wife, the captain made a decision.
I will protect my daughter at all costs.
【I can make it happen.】
The voice that rang in my ears at that moment was the beginning of all of this.
An unidentified voice that says it will give him the power to protect his daughter.
At first, I thought it was just an auditory hallucination.
After losing his wife and being driven by debt, he thought he was going crazy.
【I exist. It is not an illusion or a lie, it is waiting for you somewhere not far away. You are a special person who can receive my power.】
However, as time passed, the captain began to become convinced.
The owner of this voice whispering to me exists somewhere in real life.
Besides, the only thing he could rely on was this voice.
He can’t even handle mana, so what can he do?
In the end, the captain walked aimlessly, following the call of the voice.
I continued to walk to the place he called…To the mountains, to the forest, to the cave, to the place where there was darkness.
-Paaa!
As a result, I was able to obtain this power.
Powerful magical energy radiating from the entire body.
“Kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk…”
The captain smiled with satisfaction as he looked at his body stained black.
Thanks to this power, he was able to gain the power to take revenge on the nobles, and he was able to organize a band of righteous bandits by gathering citizens who had fallen into the abyss like him.
Now his mission is to spread this power far and wide.
So that we can overthrow this damn aristocratic society.
It is about sharing power so that all commoners can find their legitimate rights.
‘I am not wrong.’
He became a priest of the ‘Priest’ level.
He has been given the power to share magical energy with others.
“Ugh…”
At that time.
I heard the girl’s moans and the sound of the bed turning over.
My daughter, who has been suffering from a long-term illness, is suffering from great pain.
“So, Sophie…!”
The captain hurriedly ran to her daughter to check on her condition.
Seeing the blue energy rising on his face, it looks like he missed the right time to take the advanced stamina potion.
The captain hurriedly took out the advanced stamina potion he had stolen from the noble and fed it to his daughter.
Her daughter’s condition improved and her facial color began to return to normal.
“····Phew.”
The captain breathed a sigh of relief and checked his daughter’s condition again.
I carefully checked to see if my breathing was interrupted, if my body was feverish, and if the blue energy had spread further.
As a result, there were no problems.
“···Somehow, we have to find a way.”
However, I couldn’t leave it like this forever.
Advanced stamina potions only prevent the disease from worsening.
It could not be fundamentally cured.
“If only you could receive this power…”
In the end, the only solution was to have her daughter become a believer in the ‘Salvation Church.’
It possesses demonic energy and gives the body powerful regenerative power.
-Seueuugh
So the captain carved the devil’s symbol on her daughter, unfolded the scroll, and prepared her for the ritual.
Then, after ‘completely transforming’ and maximizing demonic energy, I injected demonic energy into my daughter.
“·····Ugh!”
But it didn’t work this time either.
Magi is easily accepted by others, but her daughter is the only one who has a hard time accepting her.
What on earth is the reason?
“Should I take you to the bishop?”
In the end, the only way left was to take my daughter to the bishop.
If he was a ‘Bishop’ grade, he might be able to come up with a clever idea to inject demonic energy into his daughter.
“······.”
But the captain had put this matter on hold several times.
This is because the bishop, who only appears once a fortnight when performing a ritual, always takes virginity by sacrificing his own virgin.
‘No matter how much the bishop…The ceremony…’
Furthermore, the ritual was extremely bizarre.
It would be understandable if it was embracing a living person, but wasn’t the method of killing a woman by inserting a magic stone into the solar plexus and then embracing the corpse?
No matter how much one thought about it, raping a corpse was beyond common sense.
I was afraid that my daughter, who was still a virgin, might end up in the same situation, so I couldn’t hastily tell the bishop.
-Knock knock.
At that time.
Someone knocked on the captain’s door.
Soon, the words ‘time is up’ were heard from outside the door.
It was already time for the ceremony.
“Okay, let’s go soon.”
The captain said this and looked at his daughter.
The devil’s symbol was being erased all over the daughter’s body as she was tossing and turning.
“Sophie, this dad will definitely save you.”
The captain said so and prepared for his ceremony.
Another way to save her daughter is to become a ‘bishop’ herself.
***
“There you are.”
Deep in the mountains.
I was up on a cliff looking around the refugee village.
My current suit’s helmet also has a telescope function, so I was able to monitor my opponent’s movements from a distance.
“It’s bigger than I thought…”
However, the scale of the enemy was larger than expected.
I thought it was a group of bandits of about 20 people at most, but the village was about 500 people including civilians.
It’s dizzying to think that all of those people have become believers of the devil religion.
“The story is roughly drawn.”
I spied on that refugee village for only about 30 minutes.
But that alone clearly shows the background of how this village was born.
The people’s economy was shattered by the tyranny of the former lord.
The moments of pain that the residents of the territory had no choice but to endure as a result.
‘They are united by their hatred of nobles.’
In the end, it was the sh*t that the former lord Argie made that created them.
Not only did they corrupt the sincere workers of this land into a band of thieves, but they also made them rely on the power of the devil.
The only crime they have is that they were ignorant of the devil religion.
“Fortunately, I can still go back.”
However, I was not irreversibly immersed in the devil religion.
When you see the captain or his entourage, if you no longer accept demon energy and purify it with ‘holy power,’ you will be able to return to your original human form.
“The problem is…”
The problem is that there is no one who can manipulate sacred power yet.
Originally, the time when the Devil Cult began to spread in earnest was when the player entered the third year, and from then on, those who used holy powers began to appear and help eradicate the Devil Cult.
‘Well, I can fix it, but…’
However, even if I cannot use holy power, I can also remove demonic energy.
Usually the area where demonic energy is created is the contaminated heart, so all you have to do is cut out the heart and restore it with healing.
Of course, you may die in the process, and you will have to feel tremendous pain…
‘I have to handle that tidying up.’
That is the price of using the wrong power.
A person who possesses demonic energy for a long time will eventually degenerate into a being that is consumed by his ego and eats his family as well, so dying before that happens is actually a blessing.
“Yes, physical therapy confirmed!”
In preparation for times like this, I have acquired a large number of top-quality healing scrolls.
Let’s cut open the chests of the people in the territory, cut out their hearts, and replace them with new hearts.
Of course, in order to do that, you have to get the consent of the person involved… How should I say this?
Do I have to remove your heart to save you?
No matter how much I think about it, I don’t think I will accept it easily…
“···If you refuse, there is nothing we can do.”
I just decided not to think about it too complicatedly.
If words don’t work, why not anesthetize the person with a repulsor beam?
Rather, it is easier to cut out the heart of a fainted opponent.
‘Above all…’
From the looks of these guys, it looks like they are trying to add one more believer.
We must move quickly before the ritual adds another casualty.
‘This is my first time using this.’
However, the distance between the cliff where I am and the refugee village is quite far.
To access quickly, you must use a wingsuit that you have not used before.
-Paaat!
So I spread my jet-black wings that I had never spread before.
Now the flight system is still incomplete.
This wing, which is 6m long from side to side, will complement its flight ability excellently.
-Taaat!
On top of a steep cliff.
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I jumped towards the ground.
***
“Everyone is gathered. “Go to the cave of consciousness.”
The captain said this while looking around at the lower-ranking priests who had gathered for the ceremony.
In order to increase the success rate of the ritual, it was necessary to gather as many people as possible with demonic energy and make a wish, so it was necessary to gather all the warriors and take them with them.
“Hmm?”
He was on his way to the cave, leading about 60 warriors.
A warrior suddenly stops walking and looks up at the sky.
He said, pointing to the sky.
“Hey, what is that…?”
The sun has just begun to rise.
A black figure flying against the light of the sun.
A colleague squinted, looked at it, and said.
“Monster…? Aren’t you a harpy? “I think it’s coming this way?”
Harpy, equivalent to a bird of prey monster.
At the word harpy, the warriors heading to the cave of consciousness looked up with nervous expressions.
Aren’t harpies usually vicious monsters that kidnap women and children and drop them to death?
It is not a big threat to those who can control demonic energy, but they had to drive out the harpies to protect the villagers.
“But is that… A harpy?”
However, the closer the monster presumed to be a harpy approached, the more he tilted his head.
It is too large to be called a harpy… And the shape of its wings is reminiscent of a bat.
“W-what is that…”
Furthermore, since it came close enough to be observed in detail with the naked eye, I was able to conclude that it was definitely not a harpy.
I’ve never heard of a harpy scattering red and blue luminous light like that.
“It’s coming here!”
Something unidentified was approaching this place at high speed.
Everyone, including the captain, immediately got into a battle stance and began to raise their demonic energy.
-Whoop!
While the demon energy was being raised, something unidentified descended at high speed and landed on the ground.
In the aftermath, a fairly large wind of dust arose, but all the warriors, including the captain, did not miss the movement of it, which was kneeling on one knee and supporting its body with one arm.
-Chrrr!
At that time, the sound of metal meshing delicately was heard and the wing began to recover.
With blank eyes, the captain and his party watched the 6-meter wings on both sides being automatically folded and recovered.
When they witnessed the sophistication of future technology for the first time, they felt overwhelmed just by it.
-Ugh…
While I was gulping and looking at the jet-black being, it finally stood up.
Blue light emitting from the center of the chest.
Eyes that scatter red light.
A hard shell that appears impenetrable at first glance.
‘W-what on earth is this?’
The captain and his companions were able to intuit it just by looking at its exterior.
Even if they all attack, they cannot defeat that unidentified being.
And that unidentified something is not just a monster, but a transcendental entity of a new standard that goes beyond the common sense of this world.
【Nice to meet you】
“!!!!”
However, the transcendental being in front of me was even equipped with intelligence.
No matter where you look, it does not appear to be a structure that allows it to open its mouth, but the Transcendental Body was clearly speaking to them in human language.
“Who are you…? Please reveal your identity.”
So, with a pounding heart, the captain asked about the identity of the transcendental body.
The more I look at him, the more I suddenly think that he might be the ‘Prince of Hell’ that I read in the scriptures.
Soon he opened his mouth.
【Can’t you tell even when you look at me? I am your savior. You are the rightful owners of this land that you must serve.】