Chapter 582
Chapter 582
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 582
Chapter Title: A Good Friend to Meet
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I thought for a moment I'd stumbled into some kind of nightmare.
"Th, these things...!!!!"
Of course, since I'd braced myself mentally, I didn't freak out.
"Gasp...!!!!!"
"No way...!!!"
Barkrel and the holy knight flailed their arms wildly at the empty air like madmen before finally calming down and clamping their own mouths shut with their hands.
We'd already screamed our lungs out too many times to shriek at the sight of something horrific.
Even these scream addicts—no, shriek enthusiasts—managed to clamp their mouths shut.
"Saint. What in the world are these...?"
"Beats me."
The inner chamber was surprisingly spacious, crammed full of bizarre structures.
The walls were covered with things that could be grotesque machines, decorations, objets d'art, or who-knows-what.
Next to what looked like an altar lay heaps of flesh that must have once been human, scattered alongside bone fragments.
And down there below, most of all.
—Grrooooaaarrr...
—Niiiiing...!
—Quiiiioooo...
Discarded abominations, like those in a well, stretched their arms upward from the bottom of the massive, deep pit, trying to crawl toward us.
"The Pit of Sin!!!!"
Barkrel spotted them and leaped back, clutching his head.
"Saint... These look like abominations that failed midway through creation."
"That's what it seems like to me too."
Judging by those damn things, it was clear they'd been crafting abominations right here in this room. Failed ones got tossed into the pit below.
Deep enough, with nothing to grab onto, so they couldn't climb out.
They'd simply been abandoned.
"What the hell are these... I have no idea. Sis, you ever seen anything like this?"
"Hmm, first time for me too. What kind of structures are these?"
Winia and Claudy examined the machine-like contraptions lining the walls.
I honestly had no clue what they were.
Even I, raised around all sorts of modern Earth machinery, couldn't make heads or tails of them.
Maybe devices to amplify magical power, or ritual structures to invoke evil. Or altars for summoning something. But the strangest thing was that purple gem embedded up high.
—Ziiing.
It reflected an ominous glow so intensely that all the light filling the underground seemed to emanate from it.
Whatever else, I needed to grab that one.
"We must destroy them all, Paladin."
"Saint. We have to smash every last one."
I agreed completely.
We couldn't haul these devices away for study, and requesting backup from Isvant would take days. In the meantime, the heretics might return, salvage them, or restart operations.
Everything had to be destroyed.
No traces left behind. Every single thing here was made to create abominations. No matter what, we had to erase their existence.
Still.
"Hold on. Before we smash everything, let's grab anything worth taking first. There's a ton of stuff here. Taking it all might give us some insight into their goals or plans."
It seemed like an important room—plenty of books and strange tools left behind. Barkrel and Elise nodded.
"You're right. We should collect everything we can, of course. It's utterly loathsome, the mere thought of leaving such filth in this world fills me with rage, but we need it for intel."
We gathered every piece of evidence scattered around. Prioritizing what fit in bags or could be carried by hand, and slated the rest for destruction.
Once sorting and looting were done, we stood before the pit.
—Grrooooaaarrr...
—Nyaaaang! Nyaaang! Kyaaack!!
—Horororong!! Horooooong!!!
These severely twisted abominations were even smaller than the ones we'd killed earlier. True failures. Failures that had once been human.
"Winia."
Calling her name, she nodded and began chanting.
"Flame Arrow."
The fiery arrow she conjured flew deep into the pit. It exploded soon after, incinerating the monsters inside.
—Kiiiiiik!!!!!!!
—Quiiiiooooook!!!!!!!!!
—Haaaack!!!
The monsters screamed as they burned.
"...We were the first to find them."
Tears streaming down his face, Barkrel spoke in a solemn tone.
"It was our duty. They're no longer human. All we can do is end their suffering."
The holy knight and priest stood beside him, heads bowed in silence. Elise spoke too, her face clouded with gloom.
"And... if we leave them be, the heretics who return might use them again."
"Exactly. This is the right thing to do."
I placed a hand on Elise's gloomy shoulder and said,
"The gods they believed in during life will redeem those poor souls. Elise. There'll be more incidents like this ahead. That's why we must keep fighting without end."
"Saint..."
"To establish justice in this world and bring peace. Right?"
"Yes, you're right. As expected of the Saint—you're unshakable."
Elise nodded, clasped her hands, and murmured a quiet prayer.
"Ijarmart..."
"Verde..."
Barkrel and his men began praying too.
"...Alright, Paladin."
Finishing his prayer, Barkrel drew his sword.
"Let's begin."
"Understood."
"The destruction of this facility."
Obviously, we had to smash it all.
"DejzAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!"
"God of Order!!!!!!"
"Verde forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Our shouts echoed through the basement.
I swung my sword to demolish the corrupted facility. The self-repairing discounted blade was perfect for reckless smashing like this.
Barkrel, the holy knight, Claudy—all swung their blades. Elise wielded her mace, erasing every trace of the heretics. Thus, all evil was shattered, sliced, and pulverized.
—Sizzle sizzle.
Winia provided the finale, as expected. I splashed some oil around, and her Flame Arrow set the room ablaze.
We burned the abomination corpses too.
Leaving the burning basement behind, we sprinted madly back to the surface.
Lots of smoke, after all.
I'd snagged that purple gem too, just in case.
"Captain Barkrel!!! What the hell happened inside!!"
Emerging outside, the holy knight and priest guarding the entrance jumped in shock and rushed over.
"The heretics were using trafficked people to make abominations!"
"Abominations!!! No way!!!!!!!!!!!"
Barkrel briefed the two on the private investigation's results. We'd wrapped things up neatly and grabbed everything worth taking. A job well done, beyond expectations.
—Gulp gulp.
I uncorked my canteen and chugged water while scanning the surroundings.
Speaking of which, where's our heretic friend...? Uh oh! What the fuck?!
"Wh, what the hell!!! Holy Knight! What's that?!"
Startled, I grabbed the holy knight's shoulder and blurted,
"Why the fuck is that bastard dead!!!"
"P-P-Paladin. W-Well, you see... Th-that is..."
Incredibly, the heretic was completely pulverized, splattered across the ground! Even shoving the bastard through a chili grinder or hydraulic press wouldn't mush him like that!
"S-Sorry, Paladin. I accidentally killed him."
The holy knight scratched his head awkwardly, apologizing like a kid who'd broken a window. Well, he'd outlived his usefulness anyway, so no big loss. Still, I'd planned to pump him for new info.
Whether he answered or not, worth a shot... but this crazy holy knight.
Honestly, I'd been holding them back; if it were just the three of them, killing him would've been a given.
This was like leaving fish with a cat.
"Hahaha, could happen! Good work!"
"...Really? Glad I did the right thing! Kahahah!"
The holy knight laughed heartily. It was a good deed regardless, so no point dwelling on spilled milk.
"Anyway! Check this out!"
I pulled the purple crystal orb-like thing from my bag right away. Snagged it while we were smashing everything.
"No matter how I look at it, it screams evil."
"Looks like an important heretic item."
Purple energy seeped from the crystal, giving it an eerie vibe.
Still, the most suspicious item by far—Saintess Cardia would love it.
"Winia. Feel anything?"
"Dunno... Not my expertise."
"Claudi?"
"Afraid not."
Well, pondering unknowns yields nothing. We wrapped up the scene, boarded the wagons, and headed out. One quick village stop for final checks, then back to Isvant.
Quite the long journey.
I'll write the report on the way back.
And grab gifts for my waiting wives.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ With the map complete, the return trip was smooth. Misty as it was, we'd adapted enough for easy movement.
No ambushes worth noting, and we made good time.
Thus, we returned to Isvant.
"Phew... Finally back. Paladin. Tired as you must be, come to the church with me first. Important business."
"Can't be helped."
Given the gravity, I'd sent Claudy and Winia straight home and headed to the church.
Fortunately, Saintess Cardia was guarding it as always. We entered the chapel and reported the full rundown.
"Hmm."
Saintess Cardia took the report, listened to our account, and lit a cigarette.
"Grave matter."
Grave indeed.
We'd uncovered the truth and razed their facility.
Mission accomplished splendidly. But we hadn't identified the heretics' true nature, and smashing one base wouldn't make them vanish.
Just one incident among countless.
"The villagers who returned first have been duly punished and imprisoned."
The advance holy knights had made it back fine.
"Underground lab and abominations... Not just human trafficking. Deadly serious. Extremely so."
Saintess Cardia chain-smoked, her face grave as she pored over the report. We'd brought all evidence too.
"Situation noted. Needs internal review. Good work, everyone. Paladin. Rewards after full closure. You'll be compensated fairly—rest easy."
"Understood."
I bowed to Saintess Cardia.
Rewards incoming—nice.
"And convey my thanks to Nun Elise of the Radiant Cross Society."
"No trouble at all. I'm the grateful one."
Elise bowed formally too. Churches aside, figures like saintesses commanded respect across faiths.
"Official documents after closure. Since churches collaborated, necessary procedure. Can you wait?"
Elise would stay in Isvant awhile.
"Of course."
She agreed.
"Paladin."
"Yes."
"You handled this superbly again. Beyond expectations. Over two weeks, but... impressive."
Saintess Cardia stared into my eyes, stubbing out her cigarette in the ashtray.
"Internal review needed. Serious stuff. Sorry you're fresh back, but I need your time with this saintess today."
Lots to discuss, apparently.
Still midday. Karin and Lisha wouldn't be home yet, so sticking around was fine. Visit Liztina tomorrow.
"Saintess. Mind if I escort Elise out first?"
"Go ahead."
I stepped outside with Elise for now.