Festival of the Dead (2)

It was, by any measure, a desperate struggle.

Lost’s fighting style was honed to the extreme – a method for the weak to subdue the strong.

‘I’ll give credit where it’s due. That bastard is insane in a good way.’

Titan didn’t view Lost entirely favorably. He only went along because Lost had set up a stage worthy of his satisfaction. He couldn’t appreciate such opportunistic tendencies.

That’s why when Lost said he would fight directly, Titan nodded. A person’s true nature shows in life-or-death duels.

Look at this. Isn’t it crystal clear?

Is the sight of a man struggling desperately to win truly so pathetic?

No, that fighting spirit is something no one should dare mock.

“Lost is going to die at this rate.”

But Linea couldn’t view the scene favorably. No matter how she looked at it, Lost was taking more damage.

Though his opponent was regenerating because he was a half-demon, Lost wasn’t even tending to his own wounds as he attacked.

Though she knew this was meant to pressure the opponent… it was excessive.

There was almost a hint of madness in how he wouldn’t even glance at the undead attacking him.

“No, this is an opportunity gained by betting his life. That’s the right way to put it.”

“Aren’t you going to help?”

“Why should I? Lost stopped me, saying these were his guests. I shouldn’t interfere.”

“……”

“If you’re so worried, why don’t you step in yourself? Unless you plan to just keep clutching what’s in your pocket.”

“No, I…”

“Hmph.”

Titan snorted at Linea’s hesitation.

In the end, that’s how it was. While Linea was searching for something in Lost, she was reluctant to reveal anything about herself.

‘What should I do?’

She didn’t want Lost to die like this.

She hadn’t yet confirmed why she couldn’t see any lines on him alone.

But to ask about that, she would need to reveal her own secret.

Yet she lacked the courage to do so. Wasn’t that why nothing had changed in this situation?

She was afraid of her secret being discovered.

She remembered the fear that had subtly permeated the mansion towards her.

She had left home to escape that, but what if she faced the same result again?

‘What should I…’

She felt disgusted with herself.

But Linea didn’t move. Just as Titan said. No, she was forcing herself to accept Titan’s words.

If she truly thought Lost would die, she would move, but not now.

‘I can still hide it.’

Just as Linea was quietly rationalizing her decision.

“Huh…?”

Lost, who had been repeatedly attacking while pinning down Mez, suddenly started coughing up black blood.

*     *     *

It was sudden.

And it was also a chronic problem I’d always carried.

The black blood I spilled wasn’t from Mez’s attacks. Nor was it from the undead he controlled.

There’s no way a heresy inquisitor like me would be infected by corpse poison and cough up black blood so quickly.

This is ‘corruption’.

It’s what I’d been worried about all along, why I left the Duchy of Forys almost like running away to start this journey, knowing the ominous sign would come.

The <Corruptor>’s poison eats away at my flesh. A being I merely encountered in dreams has started affecting my physical body.

It probably isn’t even hostility. This happened just because we became entangled.

“Get out of my wayyyyy!!”

But I won’t back down.

How could I miss this chance? I need to subdue him definitively right here.

“Cough!”

I spit up blood. Black blood stains my pure white priest’s robe.

I rushed out without gathering enough power to kill the attacker.

Yes, I’ll admit it. It was greed.

But I succeeded somehow. I managed to grasp the opportunity.

“Die.”

Too much blood has been spilled.

A friend I talked with just yesterday blocked my path the next day.

In a miserable state, having lost parts of his body. Unable to even make a sound.

Even his soul was defiled.

“Die!”

All because of this bastard.

-At this rate, you’ll really kill him. Wouldn’t that go against our promise?

Thud!

But at that moment, the world shook violently.

At the same time, Mez’s black mist and my holy power began turning grey as if fading.

“…Yes, that’s right.”

“What nonsense are you…”

Mez, not grasping the situation, pushes me away while grinding his teeth.

He finally found the right amount of force to push me away without killing me.

But it’s too late.

The situation is already over.

I already prepared a way to kill Mez. From the start, I just needed to stall for time.

“A contract is a contract. Though it’s regrettable I can’t kill you myself…”

In the grey-tinged world, a city revealed its form.

The undead oppressing me all froze in place.

Mez, who had been controlling them, stiffened, unable to do anything.

Bella kept her promise.

This is the first trial I’m facing directly in this life.

“But I can ensure you meet the worst possible end.”

-You thought well. Since consideration is a virtue, I surely won’t meet you in a bad way after death.

I step back slightly to catch my breath.

Just as I was about to confirm the being that had finally arrived to keep the promise.

-Well then.

A pressure bore down on our surroundings.

No one could move. Not Mez who was catching his breath, not me. Not even my companions watching from behind.

-A pleasure to meet you. My name is Hecate.

What followed was a gentle woman’s voice. But with an overwhelming presence that none would dare defy.

Naturally, my head bowed down and I couldn’t dare raise it.

All I could see was white hair trailing down to the ground.

-A path for lost children, an opportunity for those with regrets.

The eternal being recorded third among the 10 trials.

<Wanderer>

Necropolis

-Do you all have lingering attachments?

Hair dragged along the ground. The master of Necropolis who had introduced herself as ‘Hecate’ had moved.

And naturally, her direction was towards Belial’s elite, the ‘Blade of Binding’ and dark mage Mez.

-What kind of person are you? Won’t you tell me?

An overwhelming pressure completely contrary to her gentle voice.

-It seems difficult for you to speak.

Difficult to speak? Whose fault is that? After crushing the surroundings with pressure so we can’t even open our mouths.

-Then shall we ask those who know you well? Yes, those of my kind.

I could tell even without seeing.

In the direction Hecate faced must be the undead Mez had summoned. The <Wanderer> Necropolis is a group of undead with free will.

To them, undead are people, and dark mages who kill their will to control them are nothing more than slave traders.

-Hmm, I see. Ah?

Nothing could be heard except her voice.

But I could tell she was conversing with the undead.

Then an unbearably chilling sensation wrapped around my entire body.

-My, it seems you weren’t quite a good person. Hehehehe.

I can vividly imagine Mez trembling. After all, his opponent is a being on the same level as Belial.

Because she’s a ‘trial’.

-What should we do with you? Yes, what exactly should we do? Yes, that sounds good. Ah! That’s not a bad idea either.

Whether talking to herself or still conversing with the undead.

A voice that somehow sounded delighted.

Only then could I understand. She was deliberately creating terror. She clearly intended to give Mez the most miserable death possible.

I can’t help feeling pleased. When the Saintess warned me about trials in my dream, I was cautious, but it seems I made the right choice in drawing them in.

-First, using that soul as firewood for 500 years might be nice.

Living an immortal life must give you a different sense of scale.

-There’s so much we can do, so much we want to do.

“Ugh… Aaargh!!”

Crunch! Crack!

The sound of a neck being pulled out while still alive. The sound of simply pulling upward while pressing down, without even twisting.

-So let’s think about it together? We have more than enough time.

After the sounds of something tearing apart, Mez’s screams that had mixed with the wailing ghosts suddenly cut off.

Black blood flowed across the ground, making my pure white priest’s robe sticky and wet.

-Everyone can raise their heads now. The frightening nightmare has passed.

With those words, the pressure bearing down on our bodies vanished.

Coughing sounds like people just emerging from water came from all around.

“……”

I too raised my head to look in Mez’s direction.

A beautiful woman with features as gentle as her voice stood there holding Mez’s violently torn neck.

I don’t know. I can’t even begin to guess what kind of being she is.

She lacks the intense death energy that undead should emanate.

Just like how I can’t sense demonic energy from Belial.

Having a physical body makes her seem like a zombie or ghoul, while her transparent skin suggests ghost or banshee types.

But she can’t be such a low-level being.

The only high-level undead I know of is a lich.

But if you ask if the being before me is a lich, I can only say no.

The biggest clue to her race was something else entirely.

But should I even mention it?

Just referring to it feels like committing a sin.

But I ultimately had to voice my question.

“…An angel?”

What existed in the place most filled with death in the world was the form of an angel.

*     *     *

-I’m sorry we only have this sort of thing to serve our guests.

“…You definitely should be sorry. Is this what you call hospitality?”

-Haha.

Smack!

I strike the back of that overly honest Titan’s head.

“You should have at least some manners when dealing with people, brat.”

He’s so tall that even sitting down, I have to jump to hit him.

Titan glares at me with displeasure but what do I care.

Fortunately Hecate left without saying much, or we might have had to face a trial head-on.

How can he be so brazen – even after witnessing that nightmare just now.

“But Lost, look. They served us this kind of thing.”

Of course, as Hecate said, there wasn’t much to serve. It was water, but rotten water. For a moment I wondered if it was meant as a provocation, but that probably wasn’t the intent.

They’re undead after all. Beings who can live without eating – how could they have things for human guests?

“Titan, this too is training. It might look like just rotten water to you. But think about it? When you’re dying of thirst after days without water, would this still be just rotten water?”

“Speak plainly, Lost. Before I crack that clever head of yours.”

“I’m saying it’s all about perspective. What matters isn’t what was served, but the thought of trying to serve something even in this state.”

“Thought?”

“Yes, think of it as accepting the feelings of someone trying to show us hospitality.”

“Hmm…”

Only then does Titan nod. He seems to finally understand.

I use holy magic to purify the rotten water in both our cups.

Titan says nothing more and wets his throat with the water.

And then.

-Fufu, that was a joke. This is the real one. Herb tea… wait, what are you doing?

Smack!

This time I get hit in the back of the head by Titan.

For a moment my head spins.

But unlike Titan earlier, I don’t glare back at him.

Because I deserved it.

-Thanks to you, we were able to free many people. It would be good if you contacted us again for things like this.

“We don’t have any way to contact you though.”

-Should I attach a ghost to you?

“No thank you.”

I am a priest.

To withstand my holy power, an ordinary ghost wouldn’t do.

That would inevitably mean attaching a powerful vengeful spirit…

I have absolutely no intention of carrying around something so horrific. I’m not crazy like Edge Forys after all.

-By the way, how surprising. To meet someone connected to so many trials.

“…You have quite the eye to notice that. Are your eyes special?”

-Is there even anything to notice? It’s right there in plain sight.

Hecate smiled gently while pointing at my priest’s robe stained with blood.

-<Corruptor>. You met quite a terrible one. I met it too when I was alive. It had such intense bloodlust.

Then she points to my head and speaks.

-<Dreamer>. Seems you had something you needed to cling to in dreams.

I lost my name.

But before losing my name, I had many chances.

Perhaps what I first lost wasn’t my name.

Though I can’t even remember what I lost anymore.

The reason I faced trials while losing so many things was because the dreams it showed were sweet.

What a cruel trial indeed.

-And…

This time she points to Mez’s head decoratively placed on the table.

-<The One Who Is Everywhere>.

As expected.

Having lived for such an unfathomable time, she knows about Malice.

That is, about Belial.

As she said, I encountered three trials in a short time.

I survived well enough.

-And then there’s me.

Hecate points to herself with a grin. Though she’s clearly beautiful…

-My… Perhaps you were captivated by this beautiful form?

Somehow she gave off an unpleasant impression.