Chapter 352: Crush the Mad Cult! 8

* * *

"Dark Believer."

Death Pope, the 'Pope' of the cult 'Purple Dual Rings', muttered in a daze.

Dark Believer is embedded in the wall, dead.

"Murder Monk."

Murder Monk is next to him.

Dead in the same way as Dark Believer.

Death Pope's voice trembled.

"Fire Pastor."

Lying motionless in a corner of the plaza.

"Hell Savior."

The same goes for her.

"...Where's Bloody Saint?"

Asked that, Church Bell silently shook his head.

She died in the explosion with the Blood Grail of Carnage.

"Oh... oh... How could this be... They were all wonderful comrades, wonderful believers..."

Death Pope muttered in a trembling voice, slumped his shoulders, wiped his tears with his fist, and then made a sign in front of his chest.

"Oh, our noble god Alogoros-sama... We offer you new sacrifices. Please accept them..."

"Please accept them..."

Church Bell followed Death Pope, who had begun praying to their god, ringing his bell and praying as well.

Ring, ring, ring...

The sound of the 'Ability Sealing Bell' echoed through the Second Plaza like a requiem.

Emi, crawling on the ground, glared at them.

This 'pressure' that's been weighing down her entire body from above ever since that giant old man appeared.

It's most likely the work of that Pope.

If so, the current situation is not good.

Judging from his title and Church Bell's attitude, this Pope is probably the boss of those guys.

Emi's enemy.

And right now, in front of her enemy, Emi.

Couldn't move, crawling on the ground.

If she could just use [Body Strengthening], she could continue fighting, but it's sealed by the sound of the bell.

This is really bad.

"...Rrrgh!!"

But her fighting spirit still burned!

Emi scooped up a pebble from the cobblestones and threw it at Death Pope.

It's [Stone Throw]!

...But.

The pebble, which should have flown straight towards Death Pope, the moment it left Emi's hand... fell towards the ground.

And then, it hit the cobblestones and stuck there.

"............"

Seeing that, Emi had an idea about the true nature of the mysterious force pressing down on her.

She has memories of her past life.

Even though she wasn't particularly good at studying, she knew the name of that force as common knowledge.

In other words, the true nature of the force pressing down on Emi.

What that Pope is manipulating is.

"Now... Tell me what happened, Church Bell."

"Yes!"

Here, Death Pope, finishing his prayer, leisurely started a conversation, right in front of Emi, who was watching for an opportunity to turn the tables.

"When I arrived, Dark Believer, Murder Monk, and Bloody Saint were already dead. And the Blood Grail of Carnage was destroyed."

Church Bell continued his report while ringing his bell.

"And soon after, Fire Pastor and Hell Savior followed them. It's all... because of that monster!"

Church Bell glared at Emi with hatred!

Death Pope then turned his attention to Emi, who was on all fours.

Their eyes met.

Burning in Emi's eyes was a fierce, flame-like fighting spirit, killing intent, malice.

Death Pope, on the other hand.

His eyes were filled with deep sadness.

Quiet and dark eyes, like a still lake on a moonless night.

"If only I had arrived sooner..."

Death Pope looked up at the sky, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

"Little girl... You took five precious lives in this place. Do you understand the gravity of your sin?"

"............"

And then, Death Pope began his sermon, looking at Emi with pity in his eyes.

In a calm tone, like an ordinary religious person.

"Of course, when one dies, their soul is sent to our noble god, Alogoros-sama. So, killing itself is a noble act. Be proud of that."

But the content was insane.

They, 'Purple Dual Rings', are a cult that approves of slaughter.

There's no way the leader of such an organization has a normal sense of ethics.

"But the five you killed were our comrades. They were excellent believers. If they had lived... they would have continued to kill, kill, kill... and sent many souls to our god. You took that future from them."

Ignoring the sermon that would make her go crazy if she listened to it seriously, Emi, from crawling on all fours, now lay on her stomach.

She stopped resisting the "pressure" that weighed down her whole body.

Did Emi... already give up?

No, she hasn't.

Emi, to the right, to the left... even while lying on her stomach, she was rocking her body.

"Therefore, you are a sinner. Moreover, you destroyed the Blood Grail of Carnage and interfered with our ritual of slaughter. Even more sinful. Your soul is burdened with many sins, stained with filth."

Swaying.

Swaying.

Swaying.

Rocking her body, Emi observed Death Pope.

Death Pope was shedding tears, continuing his sermon with exaggerated gestures.

"But our noble god, Alogoros-sama, accepts all souls. Even a filthy soul like yours! Therefore, there is only one way for us to save you! That is..."

She hadn't been listening because she wasn't interested, but it seems Death Pope's sermon was reaching its climax.

He spread his arms wide, looked up at the sky, and closed his eyes.

He closed his eyes.

...An opening appeared!

"RAAAAAAAAAAHーーー!!!"

Emi wouldn't miss that opportunity!

She charged towards Death Pope at high speed... rolling sideways on the cobblestones!

"Wh-What!?"

By the time Death Pope opened his eyes and realized what was happening, Emi was already right next to him.

And Emi, using the momentum of her high-speed rolling and all her strength, forcefully... leaped high into the air!

Wasn't Emi's entire body being pressed down by some kind of "pressure"!?

How can she do this when she can't even stand!?

The answer to that question is... 'If you push yourself, you can do it'.

Of course, it's an impossible feat for an ordinary person.

But for Emi... even with the "pressure" weighing her down, she can do this much at least once.

She was confident about that.

That's why she did it.

While her opponent is caught off guard, in this moment of opportunity!

"AAAAAAAAGHーーー!!!"

And after jumping, she falls.

Towards Death Pope, who was surprised and slow to react.

...At an unusual speed!

Yes, Emi's falling speed is abnormally fast!

The reason for this is... the "pressure".

This mysterious force that's pressing down on her entire body.

Because Emi has knowledge from her past life, she was able to guess the true nature of this force.

It's gravity.

This is a world of fantasy.

It wouldn't be strange for there to be someone with the ability to manipulate gravity.

Emi thought that the Pope in front of her was probably that someone.

So she thought she could use that ability to her advantage.

Normally, Emi's body is small and light.

But not now.

Her body must be heavy enough to be pressed down by her monstrous strength.

Then, why not crush him with that weight?

...He'll be flattened and die!!

But, unfortunately, things don't always go as planned.

"!?"

Suddenly, the "pressure" on Emi disappeared.

And at the same time.

"Hmph!!"

A sharp blow to her stomach.

Death Pope had punched Emi, who was falling towards him.

"Gah... ha!"

Bouncing off the cobblestones a few times, Emi rolled back to her previous position.

The intense "pressure" returned.

The force pressing her down felt even stronger than before.

"...I'm surprised."

Death Pope, catching his breath, looked down at Emi and expressed his astonishment.

"My special ability, [Trials and Tribulations]... allows me to manipulate 'weight'. You not only saw through it immediately, but also used it in your attack. You're truly... a terrifying girl."

And then, he smiled.

"But, it was a bit naive. If I can make things 'heavy', I can also make them 'light'. Didn't you think of that?"

"Guh..."

Emi groaned, lying on her back and glaring at Death Pope.

"Well then, I think this is enough. I don't know what you'll do if I keep you alive... It's time for your farewell."

Ignoring Emi's glare, Death Pope took out a metal cylinder-like object from his chest.

Emi was surprised and her eyes widened.

Because it was the first time she had seen one since she was reborn into this world... a handgun.

Guns are not currently manufactured in this world.

The method was lost with the collapse of the ancient magical civilization.

And at the same time, the gods also forbid humans from researching and manufacturing this weapon.

The reason for this is the power struggle among the gods.

The Gun God, defeated in a conflict, lost his power and fell into slumber, and currently, in the divine realm, the Sword God, Spear God, and others are in power.

They wouldn't allow a weapon like a gun, which has the potential to steal faith from them.

But there are exceptions to everything.

One of them is dungeon artifacts.

In dungeons, treasures are sometimes given as rewards to challengers.

These are artifacts.

These artifacts sometimes include weapons and magic tools created by the gods for amusement.

These are 'Divine Artifacts'.

For example, the magic armor 'Shining' that Arcus owned.

Church Bell's 'Ability Sealing Bell'.

The 'Blood Grail of Carnage'.

And Death Pope's handgun, 'Ghost Rate'.

All of them are Divine Artifacts.

And the use of Divine Artifacts is not subject to the gods' regulations.

"Now, depart."

Death Pope pointed the muzzle of the gun at Emi's forehead, who couldn't move.

"Oh, our noble god Alogoros-sama... We offer you a new sacrifice. Please accept her..."

"Please accept her..."

Ring, ring, ring...

The prayers of Death Pope and Church Bell.

And the sound of the 'Ability Sealing Bell'.

Those were the only sounds that could be heard in the night Second Plaza.

BANG.

...A gunshot rang out.