78. Get hit in the head with a believing hammer
“Kyaaagh!”
It was the Hydra closest to us that attacked us first. However, the guy is bleeding profusely due to self-harm. Cream snorted lightly and stepped on the guy’s neck.
The fighting spirit is great, but that’s all. The sound of bones breaking simultaneously came from the two intertwined necks. The hydra let out a tearing scream, and other monsters rushed to save him.
[Aim for the stigma, hero! Their things are still unstable!]
According to the Holy Sword’s advice, Cream swung the sword. As the white blade slashed through the air, the trajectory froze to white and shattered ice shards scattered in all directions.
A little bit of magic seasoning was added to it, and the ice cubes bent, precisely targeting the monster’s stigma. A few of them hurriedly blocked them, while others thought it was a small attack and ignored it.
However, the moment the ice formed by the hero’s divine power touched the stigma of darkness, it received an extreme stimulus. Polar power. Besides, the original owners were not them either.
“Quaaa!”
The Minotaur Lady, whose dress was all torn, let out a scream. A darkness that could no longer be controlled surged up from her stigmata, which had been sharded with ice.
A thick darkness like a malignant tumor spread over the minotaur’s muscles and ate away at its flesh. White bones were exposed in an instant, and he struggled in pain, forgetting to fight.
[Blood, blood, blood.]
[Meat, meat, meat.]
I heard faint whispers over the broken stigma. Crazy, what did you put in that thing? However, the monsters were attacking with their eyes wide open, not paying attention to their surroundings.
We are still trying to identify friends and family to see if we still have reason, but how long will it last? Most of them were already vomiting out howls, losing their language. Especially, the one with damaged stigma.
[Yes, that look is better.]
Unable to withstand the swelling of their muscles, torn pieces of clothing hung all over their bodies and fluttered. The Owl Bear gallops, and the shadow of the Manticore with its wings spread over Cream.
Oops, it looks like he was aiming for a clumsy pincer attack, but he should have considered the fact that this place is indoors. As Cream turned her body in a graceful motion, a spiral of icicles followed the rotation.
The moment Owl Bear struck the icicle that wrapped the cream like a fortress, the bottom of the icicle was broken intact, and the upper part that received the force soared toward the ceiling.
“Queeek!”
The Manticore, about to take a dive, is caught in an icicle and is stuck in the ceiling, struggling. He ducked his head to avoid the poisonous spittle dripping from above, then turned his head back to stab the sword.
The Owl Bear’s heart, which had been charging at it from the front, was pierced by a white blade and fluttered. Kicking the guy in the chest, pulling out his weapon and flicking his sword into the air, Cream touched the floor with his bare hands at the same time.
Damn it! The cold air that spreads from her fingertips covers the floor, and sharp ice picks soar above it. Certainly, this is inconvenient since she can only use one of her hands.
“Kyaaak!”
[Hero!]
A harpy, eager for an opportunity, tried to snatch the holy sword that Cream had thrown into the air. But the moment her claw touched the handle, the harpy’s body snapped away with a clear sound.
Inviolable (EX). Due to the nature of her holy sword, her unchosen ones dare not even grasp her. Cream spun around and snatched the falling Holy Sword, then swung her sword and blasted her flames.
The flames that spread like waves engulf the ice that the cream created earlier, causing a violent evaporation. In an instant, the entire banquet hall was filled with thick steam.
“Caw! Quaaagh!”
“He is… Where······.”
Taking advantage of the gap where his vision was blocked, Cream threw his sword on the floor and spread his five fingers wide. Her thin, white fingers twitched like a conductor, and five bolts of lightning ran from their tips.
Thunders that were completely devoured by the demonic spirit, and those who still maintained their sanity, were showered with lightning. I thought my vision flashed for a moment, but soon their stigmata were broken one by one.
“Gaaa!”
“Kkeok, ah. Not······.”
What was once a human voice stops, and soon becomes a monstrous growl and joins the chorus of beasts. As the fog clears, an orchestra of hideous and ridiculous monsters is revealed.
Monsters who cannot approach for fear of breaking their stigmata. Monsters whose stigmata have already been broken and are mad with pain. And even those who rectified the aftermath and returned to being a whole monster.
“Madam! This······.”
The Minotaur Lady, whose arm was eaten up, went berserk and completely lost control. She grabbed her prey closest to her and began to bite.
Her bowler hat is crushed by her cow’s hoof. Even the old gentleman of Tentacles struggles, wrapping around the cow’s neck, but his steel-like muscles are unsteady even when tightened. Soon, the core was ripped from its strong teeth.
Such spectacles happen everywhere. People hunt monsters, and monsters eat monsters.
[As expected, that’s not a real stigma.]
“Yes.”
If that crude thing were truly the grace of God, it could be broken with just this amount of stimulation. Even if the area with the stigmata is mutilated or cut off, the stigmata reappears elsewhere, as long as it is not forsaken by God.
The scars engraved on the monsters’ bodies may be as great as stigmata in that they give them intelligence and allow them to deal with darkness, but they are not stigmata.
More than anything, it still seems unstable. If that technology had really been completed, the Dark Church would have invaded the Great War with an army of monsters right away.
[Why… Why…!]
The monsters causing self-immolation were easily cut down, and Cream reached the baptized person. The monsters protecting him were scattered, leaving only a rotten body.
[Grace bestowed by God, power bestowed directly by Him! You fools dare!]
[Yes, yes. Keep your mouth shut until the moment you die.]
Monsters are busy fighting each other, and there is no one to protect the baptized anymore. Blood and flesh splattered and madness heated up the entire banquet hall.
The only one who wasn’t swept away by that base madness was the warrior cream. The baptized man, who slowly backed away from her cool gaze, soon bumped into the body of an ogre standing behind him.
[Hey, the monster is-]
[God’s Hammer! Oh, you’re left Punish those idiots right now!]
That monster was special among ogres. Aside from the black suit, the overwhelming size and hideous stigmata almost covered half of the face. The darkness that did not leak and gently swayed within it.
Rather, the light of reason in its eyes was dim, but in terms of power control, it could be said to be the most complete among the monsters in this place. Fighting power is, of course, the most outstanding.
[Hammer…?]
By the way, as you can see from Cream’s case, faith and strength are not always proportional.
Ogre, God’s Hammer looked with cloudy eyes at the worm that clattered noisily at its feet. Soon enough, the light returned to his eyes, and he gathered his fists together.
[Oh, that’s right. Now, come on!]
And then, it struck right away. To the bug that dares to get on my nerves.
A God-ordained shepherd? Who was baptized? Such a needlessly grandiose title was of no use whatsoever. What remained in the place where the ogre’s fist passed was just a mass of crushed zombies.
“I am hungry… eat…. Kill!”
It’s in a strange state, but judging from the fact that it’s talking human words, it seems that it’s also affected by the stigmata. As the ogre looked at us and revealed his intent to kill, the divine power of darkness wrapped around him.
Definitely considering that other monsters couldn’t apply darkness to battle, he’s uniquely excellent. So even those who were baptized would talk about the hammer of God and cherish it.
[-They say they live by strength, not words.]
However, imitations made by the hands of mortals like that. It’s so insignificant compared to the work of a real god.
The Holy Sword vomited light. While the ogre was crushing the baptized, Cream wasn’t idle either. She prepared her own secrets.
It’s a little unstable because he can’t use one arm, but the divine power of the three gods melts under Cream’s control. The three different forces blend seamlessly without repulsion and turn into white darkness.
“Booooong!”
Then, the bombardment instantly pierced the darkness that wrapped around the ogre.
Because the white darkness is an aggregate of extremely compressed power, the range itself is not very wide. However, the power of extinction contained within it was fatal to any being.
Not to mention the power to destroy even demons ruled by the laws of the other world. No matter how excellent the ogre’s vitality is as a horse of the giant race, even if his heart died, he couldn’t be alive.
“Bae······go······.”
The darkness dissipates, and the lips that were slowly moving stopped. The body of the giant fell over on top of the corpse that I had crushed. Cream cautiously approached the fallen ogre.
I don’t know if it was just a coincidence from the battle, or if it was Cream’s intention, but he died, but the stigma on his body was intact. Cream carefully reached out her knife and cut away the part.
[······That’s terrible.]
The true nature of the stigmata was revealed after the dark, hideous flesh was cut open. Something that looks like a marble embedded deep in the body.
[Do you feel what this is?]
[Even if I don’t have the ability to directly handle souls like you… I am also open to inspiration.]
However, I, who can perceive spirits, saw a wraith struggling in the smooth black orb. Blood, meat. It’s almost deafening from his howling.
Crim carefully lifted the marble. With her repulsive force, white flames rose from her fingertips and attached to her beads. Jump. I thought the beads might crack.
Soon afterwards, the orb shattered and the souls within it were freed.
From noble mtl dot com
[I’m hungry, I’m hungry. Hungry.]
[Ah, finally…]
[Louis, your mother told you not to run around!]
It wasn’t just one. The space was narrow and they were just stuck together, but when they were released from restraint, all kinds of ghosts flew up into the sky.
There were various states, such as souls that had already almost lost themselves, and souls that did not even know they were dead. It was because of souls like that that monsters were able to talk like humans.
Being able to speak simply like a human and being able to speak like a human are completely different realms. It must be because of the memory of the soul and the influence of the unconscious that they were able to pretend to be perfect.
[It’s funny, really.]
In the end, the beliefs and all that they were talking about were just dregs protruding from the mixed egos. Really, I have to say it’s funny.
The freed souls soon soared high into the sky. However, Cream turned her gaze to the ground. The pandemonium where monsters are still fighting each other.
“Clean up, I guess.”
[That’s right, well. Still, it’s much better than pretending to be human.]
Prey and predators gathered together. Stigmata were all broken by each other’s fierce attacks, and the monsters fought to the death without any reason left.
The darkness emanating from all over their bodies gradually spreads and stains the air. Cream let out a short sigh, then drew his sword and jumped into the middle of the mess.