Chapter 346: Crush the Mad Cult! 2

* * *

"Now, the time has come! We shall commence the ritual of slaughter!"

The cultists, who had been offering prayers to their god for a while, all finished their prayers, and then Dark Believer made that declaration.

"Now, who shall we start with? Who will be the first to offer their blood to the Blood Grail of Carnage? Surely, the first soul offered in the ritual will be favored by our noble god! There is no greater honor than this, is there? Now, those who wish to volunteer, step forward!"

And then he urged them.

He was talking about honor and whatnot, based on their twisted values, but what he was essentially saying was "Those who want to die first, raise your hand".

The victims, who had been kidnapped, subjected to violence, and forcibly brought here, were completely paralyzed by fear, and naturally, no one moved.

"...... Aaaaaah, why won't anyone volunteer!? This is why I hate you heathen garbage!"

Dark Believer, apparently annoyed by their reaction, once again changed his demeanor and shouted abuse at them.

He glared at the person sitting closest to him...... a young girl, probably around 5 or 6 years old.

And then, he kicked her hard!

"Aghhhhh......"

The girl rolled on the cobblestones, propelled by the force of Dark Believer's kick.

Dark Believer thought for a moment, approached the girl, and then.

"......Well, why don't we go in order of age? Hahaha, in other words, young lady, you'll be the first to die."

"Hih, hggu......!"

The girl was in too much pain and fear to even respond properly.

Her hair grabbed by Dark Believer, she was forced to stand, her eyes wide with tears streaming down her face.

The other kidnap victims, trembling at the sudden violence, watched the atrocity with pale faces.

Bathed in their fearful gazes, Dark Believer, humming a tune, began dragging the girl towards the Blood Grail of Carnage......

"W-Wait!"

But, however.

"Wait...... please!!"

Among the trembling victims.

Only one person.

Yes...... raised his voice.

It was the mustached merchant who ran a clothing store.

"I'll...... go first! So please, let that young lady go...... please!?"

His legs were shaking.

His voice was trembling.

But the man, mustering all his courage, stood up and called out to Dark Believer!

As mentioned before, he has a daughter.

About the same age as the girl currently being subjected to violence.

That's why he couldn't just stand there and watch.

He couldn't bear to see the girl being needlessly hurt.

"That's what I'm saying!!"

The man, his upper body still bound by ropes, bent forward and desperately pleaded with Dark Believer.

"Hmm...... Have you finally come to dislike the idea of letting someone else take the first spot? Fufufu, it's a shallow desire, but...... very well!"

Dark Believer let go of the girl's hair, spread his arms wide, and generously laughed, accepting the man's offer.

The girl, bumping her head on the ground once, desperately crawled and rolled towards the other victims.

"Now, you. Come here quickly."

"Yes, I understand...... But, there's something I'm curious about."

The mustached merchant, walking forward slowly...... stopped and asked a question.

"Hmm, what is it?"

Dark Believer tilted his head and responded to the conversation.

(...Got him!)

"Thank you for answering......"

The man quickly glanced around and then slowly, very slowly and carefully bowed.

What he wants to do.

What he's trying to do.

Is buy time.

Even if they fight, they're no match for these cultists.

But how about the soldiers who protect this country?

They're occupying the Second Plaza in the center of the royal capital, causing a commotion, even if it's in the middle of the night.

The possibility of someone reporting this and soldiers heading this way is quite high.

Therefore.

The best way to protect their lives is to wait for their help.

That was the answer he came up with while fighting his fear.

So, he'll buy time.

Fortunately, he's a merchant.

Words are his weapons, and conversation is his battlefield.

He's no stranger to negotiations.

"You mentioned earlier, um, Dark Believer-sama, that...... this Blood Grail of Carnage, it curses and kills everyone within a certain range, right?"

"That's right! Isn't it wonderful?"

"But...... then, wouldn't that...... also affect you all? Is it really okay?"

Slowly...... taking his time, the man carefully and cautiously asked his question.

Speaking humbly, pretending to be concerned.

His trembling had stopped at some point.

"Fufufu, you're worried about us? Thank you. But that's unnecessary."

Dark Believer laughed and took out the amulet hanging from his neck, holding it up.

It was a distasteful amulet with a design of a small human with dragonfly-like wings being restrained.

"We have this protective magic tool, the 'Unfairy'! It protects us from curses and the harmful effects of various magic tools! All those who join 'Purple Dual Rings' are given this amulet by our Pope, Death Pope-sama, as proof of their membership, and I..."

......Dark Believer was a talker.

As the merchant had planned, time was passing quickly.

But, however.

"You idiot, be quiet."

Another cultist, who appeared silently behind Dark Believer, put a stop to the man's time-buying strategy.

"Why don't you use your brain before you move your mouth? They're obviously trying to stall for time."

The cultist who interjected, sighing, was a beautiful woman with wavy blonde hair reaching down to her chest.

If the robe she was wearing wasn't stained with blood and flesh, the man might have mistaken her for a real priestess.

"I-I apologize! Bloody Saint-san!...... Hey, garbage! No more talking! Get over here!"

Dark Believer, back to his senses, grabbed the man by the scruff of his neck, and with incredible strength, dragged him towards the Blood Grail of Carnage in the center of the plaza.

(...This is all I can do.)

The merchant frowned and sighed, glancing at the corner of the plaza where the other victims were gathered.

The girl he had volunteered to die in place of was also there.

Trembling, she was silently crying, staring at the man.

(Don't make that face. This is what I wanted to do.)

He somehow managed to smile at the girl.

"Ah!? What are you smiling at!?"

Dark Believer noticed.

He slammed the man onto the ground and stomped on him repeatedly.

"Cough, cough......"

It hurts.

But however, he had bought some more time.

"Hey idiot, how many times are you going to make the same mistake? I'm seriously starting to want to send you to our noble god's side, you know?"

"Huh!? I-I apologize, Bloody Saint-san! This, this garbage, trying to stall for time again!? What heresy! There's no more time to waste! A cunning man like this is a detriment to the world! We must kill him immediately!!"

Being reprimanded by Bloody Saint, Dark Believer blushed, sputtered, shouted something incomprehensible, lifted the man's body, and...... rolled him onto a platform placed next to the Blood Grail of Carnage.

The platform was adjusted in height so that if you were beheaded, your blood would flow directly into the Blood Grail.

It's a crude, makeshift guillotine.

"Now! The ritual of slaughter truly begins!"

Declaring that loudly, Dark Believer climbed the stairs next to the platform.

He was holding the large cleaver he had been carrying at his waist, swinging it around.

The sharp whooshing sound intensified the fear.

(...This is it......)

The man finally accepted his fate and closed his eyes.

(...I did what I could... I have no regrets.)

He tried to convince himself.

But.

There's no way he could.

The smiling faces of his beloved wife and daughter flashed through his mind.

(Ah, aaaaah, aaaaaaaah......)

Tears spilled from his tightly closed eyes.

(I don't want to die...... I don't want to die......!)

His body began to tremble again.

(Someone......)

His teeth chattered.

(Someone, help me......!!)

"Oh, our noble god, Alogoros-sama...... We offer you new sacrifices. Now, the first one!"

Dark Believer, standing on the guillotine platform, made a sign with his hand, and happily offered a prayer to his god.

"Please accept them......!!"

And then, he raised the large cleaver high in the air!

When the cleaver is swung down.

The man's life will end.

He will die as a sacrifice in a senseless ritual of a mad cult.

That's what was supposed to happen.

But it didn't.

Why?

Because the time he desperately bought by mustering his courage.

......Had paid off!

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

The sensation of his head being severed by the cleaver.

What he felt instead was wind.

And a deafening roar.

"!?"

Startled, the man opened his eyes and rolled over onto his back.

Dark Believer, who should have been standing there a moment ago, was gone.

ZUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!

A second deafening roar, this time from the edge of the plaza.

Turning his head, he saw something embedded in the stone wall of a building surrounding the plaza.

Probably Dark Believer.

Why 'probably', why not be certain? Because it was already crushed beyond recognition.

He could barely make out the limbs and the dirty robe.

But...... it was a horrific sight.

He was undoubtedly dead.

It's currently the middle of the night, and the only light source is the streetlights.

His vision is poor in the darkness.

It was a blessing for the man that he couldn't see the details of the mangled body.

"Who is there!?"

The cultists, all at once, assumed combat stances, facing the intruder who had suddenly slaughtered their comrade.

The man, still lying on the guillotine platform, turned his body towards where the cultists were looking.

......And his eyes widened, his body frozen.

Because standing there was.

Slowly walking towards the Second Plaza from the main street was.

The black-haired, black-eyed girl he had met before in a back alley...... who, for some reason, tried to set him up with a bride.

Hero-colored.

Beautiful.

There's no way he could mistake her for someone else.

But her attire was quite different from that time.

She was currently clad in an eerie, jet-black armor, emitting a dark haze...... and from her shoulders, two intimidating, giant arms protruded.

Simply put, a monster.

If he had encountered such a being under normal circumstances, he might have fainted in terror.

But, however.

Undoubtedly.

She had just saved him.

"Grim Reaper......"

The nickname of the past hero unintentionally slipped out of the man's mouth.

"Grim Reaper......"

"It's the Grim Reaper......!"

"The Grim Reaper has come to save us!"

It seems the man wasn't the only one who associated the girl with the hero.

Cheers erupted from the kidnap victims, tied with ropes and gathered in a corner of the plaza!

"Hey, what do you mean Grim Reaper! It's blasphemy!? The only Grim Reaper in this world is our noble god Alogoros-sama!"

"Silence, heathens!"

The cultists shouted, trying to silence the victims with violence.

"......!!"

But they couldn't.

Because the girl released [Intimidation], more intense than anything they had felt before, and it struck the cultists.

"Hey, you...... Who are you? State your name!!"

Sweating, but with anger in his voice, a cultist asked the girl.

"I'm a traveler. Emi Rune."

Emi, walking towards the center of the plaza, quietly answered.

"You guys, you're obviously bad guys."

But in a clear, cute voice.

"......I'M GOING TO KILL YOU ALL!!!"

She made a dangerously violent declaration!!

Does this girl try to kill anyone who looks bad!?

If someone with common sense heard her, they might faint from such a self-righteous and problematic statement!

But, however...... let's put aside the rightness or wrongness of her statement for now.

The important thing is.

This girl, Emi Rune, will fight.

And that will surely save the lives of good people...... that is the truth!