Chapter 236
Chapter 236
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 236
Chapter Title: Crusade Army
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The village had been roughly cleaned up.
The holy knights and holy warriors, who had arrived in numbers exceeding a hundred, were human butchers in the truest sense—specialists in slaughter. Before the soldiers and adventurers could even make a showing, they'd swept away the bandit hordes occupying the village in one fell swoop.
With nothing left for them to do, the soldiers focused on rescuing the imprisoned villagers. Of course, excluding the women, there weren't many survivors.
No, actually, the only survivors were women.
"...Th-this! How could this be! This can't happen!"
Elise exploded in rage.
Scattered throughout the village were horrific flesh towers built from the corpses of men, the elderly, and children.
The heretical bandits who worshipped demonic gods had seized the village and massacred every resident except the women without mercy.
And to commemorate that massacre—to please their gods—they'd forced the women, who were surely the families of those victims, to build those structures!
The bandits had cackled as they watched the women wail while stacking their husbands' and children's corpses into towers...!
"Th-this isn't reality! Nooooooo!!!"
I clutched my head and dropped to my knees before one of the flesh towers.
How cruel could humans be?
Was this the true face of humanity?
Did bandits lack even the barest shred of empathy?
This was the tragedy called war!
I couldn't accept a war like this!
"Hell... it's hell. This place is hell...! Hell! HEEEEELLLL!!!"
"Saint! Saint! I can't contain my fury! Why does such evil exist in this world? O God of Order, grant me answers!"
"This isn't real! Aaaargh!!!"
"Unbelievable atrocities!!!"
I embraced Elise, and we wailed together.
"I can feel their pain! Their horrific suffering!"
"I feel it too! Sorrow, agony, despair! Emotions that should never exist!"
The sight of those brutal flesh towers defied imagination. They were the tragic result of creativity and malice pushed beyond limits. The horror made my body tremble uncontrollably.
Even Hitler and Stalin hadn't gone this far. Winia showed her disgust, and Claudy... well, she said it was awful, but... I don't know. Our sensibilities differ a bit.
In any case, the nuns gathered the rescued women in one place, while the holy knights bound all the captured bandits—and those suspected of being bandits—and dragged them to the square.
"Guhhh!"
Bandits without tattoos might be mistaken for adventurers, so they needed thorough interrogation. But those with tattoos? One hundred percent guilty—no trial needed.
"Kuhak!"
A mass execution began in the square.
The lined-up holy knights and holy warriors broke the arms and legs of tattooed bandits, then unfurled some document and chanted fanatically.
"Execution! Execution! For these wicked heretics, death is the only answer!"
"We shall uphold justice! We shall eradicate evil! Your sins have tipped the scales too far— atone with your lives!"
"Punishment! Penalty! Judgment! We shall show the authority of the gods!"
A Brass Celestial Society holy knight—the burly one—dragged a hammer plated in brass, fitting his massive frame. He raised it high, invoked the name of the god Verde of the Scales, and brought it down like lightning.
-Boom!
The bandit's head instantly turned into okonomiyaki. With broken limbs, he couldn't even twitch.
-Slash!
The Salvation Paradise Society's holy knights beheaded kneeling bandits while reciting prayers. Everyone there had seen those unholy flesh towers. No one showed mercy.
They were truly enraged by the unbelievable savagery.
The holy knights who witnessed the flesh towers had all screamed, knelt, and cried out to their gods.
"Saint! Grant me guidance! Give me teachings to condemn these atrocities!"
Elise raved wildly, shouting in a frenzy. Her eyes brimmed with tears from sheer fury... How dare they make Elise cry!
These motherfucking bastards are all dead meat!
Nowhere else to make cry but our Elise?!
Blinding rage!
"Good, Elise."
I felt her trembling in my arms. For these A-rank war criminals, simple execution was practically forgiveness.
Making Elise cry was a grave sin!
"I'll... I'll become the savior...!"
In the names of King David, the Wheel-Turning Saint King, the fully enlightened Buddha, Confucius, my father, and Kim Katt myself, I vowed to strictly judge these wicked bandits.
I stood abruptly and shouted.
"Stop! Halt the executions!"
My voice, infused with maximum volume, filled the air with intensity. The square fell silent for a moment as all eyes turned to me.
But only briefly.
"What nonsense!"
"Who the hell are you?!"
The holy knights jeered, demanding why we should stop.
I shouted again.
"Executing these wicked scum outright is actually saving them! They must repent their sins before dying! Look at the heretics who've already been executed! Did they repent? Have they paid for their crimes?!"
I pointed both hands at a Brass Celestial Society holy knight—the very one who'd handmade okonomiyaki with his great hammer.
-Shake shake.
He shook his head at me.
"Holy knight! Did the one whose head you smashed suffer enough?!"
-Shake shake.
A Salvation Paradise Society holy knight did the same, hesitating before slowly shaking his head.
Confirming that, I unleashed my overflowing passion!
"Yes! They've died far too easily compared to their sins! Simple execution isn't enough! They must pay the price for their crimes before dying! Their wicked deeds! Towers of human corpses! Murder and cannibalism! Even pillaging! Mere execution can't honor the victims' souls!"
Making Elise cry was unforgivable.
Fueled by that fury, I preached fervently, as if spewing flames!
Bursting hatred!
Exaggerated gestures!
And a dramatic accent!
I had the crowd in the palm of my hand!
The silence—they were all staring at me!
"Bring firewood! Bring pots! Boil water! We must boil the heretics alive! Their sins demand purification in scalding water!"
That's right.
These were the ones who'd massacred and built towers from corpses.
Simple execution wouldn't sate justice. They trampled righteousness, mocked the gods, and defiled humanity's foundation—no easy death for them!
Finishing my speech, I extended both arms authoritatively.
And then...
"Oh, ooooh...! OOOOOOOOOOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Waaaaahhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!! Viva Verde!"
"Ooooooh!!!!!!! That's it!!! That's the answer!!!"
"Perfect method!!!!"
"Viva Certo!!!"
"Viva Aizmart!!!!"
Thunderous cheers erupted.
At the same time...
-Clap clap clap clap clap clap!!!!!!!!
-Clap clap clap clap clap clap!!!!!!!!
-Clap clap clap clap clap clap!!!!!!!!
-Clap clap clap clap clap clap!!!!!!!!
-Clap clap clap clap clap clap!!!!!!!!
-Clap clap clap clap clap clap!!!!!!!!
-Clap clap clap clap clap clap!!!!!!!!
Everyone in the square began applauding me—holy knights, holy warriors, nuns, adventurers, mercenaries, soldiers! They showed me utmost respect!!
I stood solemnly, quietly accepting their praise.
It worked.
Elise's tears and my "sincerity."
"Waaaaahhhhh!!!!!!!!"
The crowd, seized by madness, cheered and clapped.
I quietly felt their hearts.
After a moment, I raised both hands again.
-Whoosh!
And...
-Silence.
The applause stopped.
The cheers stopped.
Movement ceased, as if the world had frozen.
And then.
I declared.
"Begin the judgment!!!!"
-Waaaaahhhhh!!!!!!!
-Woooooo!!!!
-Raaaaahhhhh!!!!!!!
Cheers exploded anew! All holy warriors and holy knights moved as one, fetching pots and firewood! If there weren't enough pots, we'd need burning stakes too!
"N-no! Stop!!!!"
"Mommy, Mommyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Eeeeeek!!!!"
"You fucking bastard! Motherfucker!!!!"
"What bullshit is that asshole spewingggg!!! "
"Bullshit! Cut the crap! You fucker!"
"Gaaaaahhh!! Let me goooo!!!"
The bandits wailed and hurled jeers at me. A few words from me had turned their easy executions into boiling stew. Now they'd truly pay for their crimes.
Of course, resistance was impossible.
Anyone with Ezatsu tattoos on their faces had their limbs broken.
I approached them and spoke gravely.
"From now on, you'll pay for your sins. Being boiled will be painful and agonizing, ending in death. But compared to your evil deeds, it's lighter than a speck of dust."
"..."
"As you die, repent."
-Gaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!
Despairing screams burst forth.
I turned from them, climbed the platform, and extended my arms in a cross pose. Ah, Lord Jesus Christ. I personally wanted the Buddhist swastika pose, but its difficulty was too high, so we settled on the cross.
Finally, the "heretic stew" preparations were complete.
Water boiled in the pots, fires roared under firewood. No solid ingredients for the stew, but the bandits' agony and screams would make fine seasoning.
"S-Saint! As expected of the Saint...! You're our pride!"
Moved Elise approached, voice choked with tears.
Yes.
This would surely save the souls of the flesh tower victims.
-Splash!
-Splash!
Holy knights began tossing heretics into the pots. -Plop! -Plop! The water boiled, and the stew meat bandits screamed.
The village women, once imprisoned, helped the holy knights make heretic stew. Having lost husbands and children to the bandits, revenge was only natural.
"Thank you, brother. Thanks to you, we've established true justice."
"Blessings upon your resolve."
"Meeting someone with such a pure heart is the second most moving thing in my life."
Holy knights and nuns from each order shook my hand and offered kind words. They spoke of divine miracles as they watched the boiling bandits, while the village women healed their hearts amid the bubbling and screams.
"Take this."
"Please accept it."
And I received necklaces etched with religious symbols.
Rosaries.
"Th-this is...?"
I accepted them in a daze.
"If you're ever in trouble, show that at the church—we'll help without fail."
"Visit the Salvation Paradise Society anytime."
"This is too much...! I only showed you the right way! I'm not worthy of this!"
Honestly, it felt burdensome, so I refused.
Coming to my senses, I realized I'd just incited horrific brutality. Seeing Elise's tears had driven me mad.
What insane shit did I do?
Me... What the hell did I do!?
This isn't human!
"No. You are worthy."
But the dignified holy knight firmly placed the rosary in my hand.
"You are without flaw as a saint."
His eyes gleamed as he spoke.
...Saint?
"Saint, you say?"
"Indeed. Your deeds will be praised forever. Ah, the black-haired preacher who spewed flames to judge heretics! You are the saint!"
The holy knight raised his arm.
-Saint!
-Saint!
-Ah, Saint!
Suddenly, holy knights, nuns, and village women knelt before me.
"Saint forever!"
"Black-Haired Saint forever!"
"Wh-what is...?"
Me.
A saint...?
"I am."
Too confused.
"The saint."
Words.
"Kim Katt."
Wouldn't.
"I am Saint Kim Katt!"
-Saint Kim Katt forever!
-Saint Kim Katt forever!
-Saint Kim Katt forever!
"I! I am Saint Kim Katt—!!!!!! Wooaaaaah!!!!!!!"
My fierce shout ignited cheers and praise from all!
Drunk on ecstasy, I raised my arms and shook them like dancing!
Yes!
I was a saint!
"Black-Haired Saint forever!"
Saint Kim Katt! That is my name!
The praise continued amid the heretics' screams as stew meat, and the chaotic mix of laughter and tears. Thus, a new saint to lead this era was born!
I descended the platform, accepting flowers from the village women.
Claudy approached, bursting into laughter, while Winia grumbled as she came over.
"Again, again. The blackie went nuts again."
"Hey! I'm Saint Kim Katt! Watch your mouth calling me blackie!"
"Idiot, seriously."
-Waaaaahhhhh!!!
Anyway, heretic stew was a gruesomely horrific sight.
But whatever.
I'm a saint.
It's fine.