Chapter 494
Chapter 494
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 494
Chapter Title: Demon Slaying
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The holy knights marched on silently despite their injuries. It was truly superhuman willpower. They restored their stamina with heals whenever they took a break.
Thankfully, there were no skirmishes on the way back that would strain our bodies, so we all made it back to the city without anyone getting fucked up.
"The search party is back!!!!!!!!!"
As we passed through the gates and headed to the Brass Celestial Society church, a priest standing at the entrance spotted us and screamed like the heavens were splitting open.
I was already going nuts imagining what kind of reward we'd get. Fuck, how much is the reward gonna be? If Barkrel talks us up right, we might even snag a gold coin.
"A Demon Gate appeared! And a mighty demon with it!"
The moment we stepped inside the church, Barkrel bellowed to grab everyone's attention. His voice boomed like thunder. He'd recovered some from his internal injuries thanks to the constant heals.
"Brother! Show them that thing quick!"
He turned to me and signaled.
"This is it!!!!"
I nodded, hoisted Andromalius's arm high, and shouted at the top of my lungs.
"The remains of the wicked archdemon Andromalius! The search party successfully subjugated the demon! We destroyed the Demon Gate too!"
Look at that—our handiwork!
"Th-that arm...!!!!"
"What the!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"The search party subjugated a mighty demon and returned!!!"
"My god!!!! Unbelievable!!!!!!!!!!"
"Verdeeeeee!!!"
"Kyaaaaak!!!"
The churchgoers milling about gawked up at Andromalius's arm in shock. They tore at their already sparse hair or collapsed, screaming their heads off.
It was pure pandemonium.
"The demon Andromalius was subjugated by our twelve brave heroes combining their strength! Brother Barkrel!"
"Call the senior priest now! Demons are invading!!!"
The commotion drew everyone left in the church running over.
"Uwaaaaaah!!!!!"
"How!!! Verde!!!! How could this happen!!!!"
"It's too horrific!!!!!"
"You did amazingly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
They all cried out their god's name in unison while praising our feat. No denying it—we'd pulled off the church's ultimate value: demon slaying.
And we had ironclad proof.
"What's all this racket... Wait! That's... Aaaah!!!!"
"Senior Priest!!!"
Just then, the senior priest uncle came sprinting from the other side, screamed, and fainted. Are these people all nuts? Anyway, the chaos lasted a bit.
Me, Claudy, and Winia got the VIP treatment alongside Barkrel as we headed deeper into the church building.
"Brothers and sisters. Bear with us a moment. These procedures and reports will take some time. I promise rewards in Barkrel's name, so hang tight."
"Of course we'll wait. Take your time, no rush."
"Hahaha! As expected. Truly grateful!"
Barkrel finished guiding us and stepped out to fetch someone.
This room seemed to be the church's chapel.
It was pretty spacious, with a brass idol set up at the front.
—The Brass Celestial.
A statue of a masked goddess.
Her detailed triple wings gleamed brilliantly, the sword she held looked deadly, and above all, the scales raised over her head were striking.
This must be their god, Verde.
When the wicked slaughter the righteous en masse, the scales tip. That's seen as shattering the paramount value of balance, so the order's warriors always exterminate the wicked to restore equilibrium.
They believe imbalance will end the world.
I don't know the details, but that's the gist of their doctrine. Learning religious canon takes years anyway. No way I'm diving deep into this world's faiths.
"That's the God of the Scales?"
Claudy showed interest.
"Seems like it."
"Hmm... Katt. Mind asking for a scripture? Not converting or anything, but I'm curious about the god stuff."
"Sure, I'll grab one."
If Claudy's curious, of course I'd snag one.
"Ugh... Tired. Blackie. I'm crashing for a bit, wake me if something comes up."
"Got it. Sleep. I'll wake you."
Winia leaned on my shoulder and closed her eyes. Wasn't that tough, but sleeping outside wore her out. She just wants to crash properly.
"Brother, the senior priest is here."
We didn't wait long before the search party members and the senior priest uncle entered. He was a bit late—probably from fainting earlier.
I woke Winia right away and greeted him.
"Oh, nice to meet you. Priest."
"O-ohhh!!! The report was true! Incredible work! An irreplaceable feat! Verde's blessings!"
He was seriously hyped.
I handed him Andromalius's arm, which I'd propped by the chair.
"Th-this is that demon's arm!!!! Verde!!! Hoo...! Hoo...! Aah, I can't calm down! Barkrel! Explain everything in detail! I can't think straight...!"
"Understood, Senior Priest."
So we gathered in the chapel and gave a long report on what happened.
There were twelve of us, after all.
Not a single detail missed or wrong—we all chimed in, cross-checked facts, and laid out everything on the Demon Gate and Andromalius.
Priest Ramelin asked for input while scribbling notes, erasing, rewriting—compiling the report, I guess.
"To think such a thing happened...!"
The senior priest sweated bullets, shuddering.
"Senior Priest! This is all thanks to Brother Katt, and Sisters Claudy and Winia! Without them, the search party would've been wiped out!"
"That's right, Senior Priest! Without those brothers and sisters, we wouldn't have just failed to slay the demon—we'd have been demon chow!"
Barkrel and holy knight Dodalkan spat as they hyped us up. Felt kinda embarrassing. Winia blushed a bit and fidgeted, Claudy grinned.
"That said, we all fought with our lives on the line. Especially Brother Barkrel holding off Andromalius solo—that was straight-up heroic."
And that's my take.
"Indeed...! My eyes didn't deceive me! On behalf of the Brass Celestial Society, I offer thanks! Ramelin, report coming along?"
"Yes! Doing great!"
"Good. Record these brothers and sisters' merits fully too!"
"Got it!"
Whoa. We're getting some serious rewards.
From their vibe, they'd hand over their livers and gallbladders if asked.
"But Senior Priest. Do you know what Andromalius is?"
I asked out of curiosity.
Knowing what the fucker is would help if we meet again.
"Regrettably... no details. Planning to contact headquarters right away. They'll know its identity. I'll inform you the moment they reply."
"Thanks."
No clue if it's a named demon.
Time passed, report wrapped up.
Ramelin passed the report around for final checks—no issues. Our feats were detailed perfectly.
"Senior Priest! Time to reward our brother!"
"Barkrel, calm down. I was already planning to."
Ooh, reward time?
The priest stroked his chin thoughtfully, stared me in the eye, and spoke gravely.
"...This is a huge deal. Procedures will be lengthy, reviewing the report takes time."
"Yeah, makes sense."
"The order needs internal meetings too..."
It's such a big thing, they don't know how to reward us properly. No worries—they're not the type to stiff us.
"Come back in three days. Rewards will be ready. Oh, and the lord's bounty too. That arm... I'll show it to Lord Isvant myself. Might get extra coin."
That was the senior priest's answer.
"Heh, hehehe... Heheheh!! Hehehehehe!!! Got it! I'll wait!"
I couldn't hold back the laughter and burst out. My laugh set off everyone in the chapel, grinning ear to ear.
Pushing rewards back means something better. And showing the lord directly? If luck's good, extra bonus.
Might even score a holy knight armor set? At minimum, a top-tier holy sword for sure.
We celebrated the victory again.
"Oh, Priest. Could I get a scripture too?"
"Scr-scripture! The holy booook!! Finally thinking of converting to our faith?! Excellent!"
Mentioning it sent the priest into near-seizure mode.
Shit, didn't mean to hype him like that.
"N-no... Not that. My wife’s interested in the church."
I wrapped an arm around Claudy's waist as I said it, and the priest's face fell instantly. Felt bad seeing the old man down.
"I see... Shame... Of course we'll give one. Hey, Zelmay! You there?!"
—Yes!
A reply came from outside.
"Fetch a scripture!"
Guy's got orders down pat. Waited a sec, door opened, a priest I'd seen before came in and handed one to the priest uncle.
"Here, the scripture."
"Ooh, thanks."
"If conversion ever strikes, come anytime."
"Hehehe, much appreciated."
Anyway, business done. Just chill till reward pickup. I grabbed Claudy and Winia's hands and stood.
"Farewell! May Verde bless your paths!"
"Take care!"
"Have a great day!"
We left amid our comrades' goodbyes. Hope they all rest up and heal proper.
"You guys take care too! Great job! Brother Barkrel, get treated!"
"Hahaha! Thanks for worrying!"
Outside, sky showed not even noon yet.
"Ugh... Finally over. Blackie, piggyback."
"Hop on."
"Hehehe, Katt. Wonder what we'll get? Holy knight armor maybe?"
Claudy said with a smile.
"Could be."
"Katt in holy knight armor would look so cool... Hehe, can't wait. Good gear means better fights."
"Word!"
Headed straight home. Bath first to wash up, then crashed on the bed—no time for sex even.
Sandwiched between Claudy and Winia, napped till evening when Karin and Lisha got back. Gave them some love amid the warm welcome, then got up.
"So yeah, I bagged a massive demon!"
Gathered in the first-floor living room for dinner as usual, filling Karin and Lisha in on our feat.
"Kyahaha, this punk says Claudy caught it but claims he did—bullshit. Ah, yeah, my hubby's awesome. Honestly, never seen a huge demon, hard to picture... but nailing that prey? Perfect. Good job."
Karin laughed and praised after hearing about Andromalius.
"Sword aura though? Good result, lucky, but don't get hooked. You'll die for real."
"I thought it through, sis. Don't trust me?"
"Dumbass. I trust you, still worry."
"Hehehe. Got your warnings memorized. Relax."
"Good then."
Karin praised, Lisha got intrigued.
"Andromalius, eh? Intriguing tale. With hell's denizens stirring lately... could be an omen."
True enough.
Demons popping up like this? Real shit could hit later.
"But back safe without scratches— that's the best. Hehe, my mate's one impressive man."
"Thanks, Lisha!"
"Anything you want from me? I'd reward you."
"Reward?!"
Lisha offering rewards!
Been tempted to smack Lisha's milky ass lately.
Wonder if she'd let me if I asked?
And haven't had any in a while.
"Hmm... Guess Katt deserves a reward?"
"Yeah, blackie did good. Anything you want from me, blackie?"
Claudy and Winia grinned too.
"What? This vibe outta nowhere? Fine, sis'll reward you too. Whatcha want?"
"Whoa."
Rewards at home and church.
Jackpot.