Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Crushing the Cult's Will
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"Don't waste our time. Let's do this the nice way."
In the capital hideout of the heretical cult Eternal Return.
Their watchers were now tightly bound and forced to their knees.
Darcor sprawled crookedly across a chair.
He looked down at the man who appeared to be the leader of the bound watchers
and asked.
"Just tell us what you saw. Where is it?"
"Kyahk! Ptooey!"
The leader jerked his head up and spat a thick glob of phlegm right into Darcor's face.
His eyes blazed with the unyielding fanaticism unique to those who feared no death.
"We are apostles spreading the will of the gods. You think your pathetic violence can force open the mouth of a divine apostle?!"
At that, the other cultists behind him
seemed to draw courage and began shouting as well.
"Oh god, save us!"
"Eternal recurrence awaits us. Death is not the end!"
The fanatics' cries filled the underground chamber.
Darcor calmly walked toward the watcher's leader.
"Whoa, smell that. Hey, mister, brush your teeth sometime."
Darcor clicked his tongue and grimaced.
He stepped right up to the leader's nose,
roughly grabbed his collar,
and wiped the spit off his face with the man's own clothes.
"Fucking gross."
One corner of Darcor's mouth curled up like he'd found an amusing new toy.
He scanned the watchers slowly.
"Look at this? You guys still don't know my personality, huh?"
In the darkness of the chamber, his red eyes gleamed menacingly.
"Guess I'll have to kindly show you."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The cultists' eyes wavered for a moment,
but madness quickly filled the void.
For fanatics, death was no end.
Wasn't it a new beginning?
The first glorious step toward eternal recurrence.
'Everyone, take your own lives. We're returning to the god's embrace.'
The leader sent a subtle signal with his eyes.
The watchers nodded and tried to bite their tongues or burst the poison hidden in their mouths.
The final measure to protect the cult's sacred secrets.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Tyrant's Intimidation An invisible force binds their bodies.
An invisible force stopped them cold.
The cultists' bodies froze in an instant.
"Who said you could die whenever you want?"
Darcor smirked and shook his head.
"If you're gonna die, say so first. Interrupting people like this? No manners at all."
The leader's pupils shook violently.
Just what the hell was this guy in front of him?
"This won't do. I'll fix that rotten mindset of yours."
Darcor turned and beckoned.
"Saintess, you ready?"
Chloe approached, furrowing her brow.
She shook her head in utter disbelief.
"Haa... Your Majesty. You're really planning something weird again, aren't you? I told you, I can't help with barbaric stuff like this. I've said it a million times, but I'm the Saintess, God's representative. How many—"
Clink.
Darcor pulled a heavy pouch of gold coins from his pocket and tossed it.
"Advance payment. We'll find tons more ransacking this hideout. You know."
Smack.
Chloe snatched the pouch midair.
The anguish on her face vanished in an instant,
replaced by a benevolent smile.
"...But a girl can't always do what she wants, right? Guiding lost lambs back to the righteous path
is also the duty of a Saintess, isn't it?"
She tucked the pouch deep into her bosom and made the sign of the cross.
"The Goddess permits it. Let's begin, Your Majesty."
"Good. Let's get started."
Darcor lightly lifted the leader's arm.
Crack.
"Gaaahhh!"
The arm bent at an unnatural angle.
His agonized scream filled the underground chamber.
Excruciating pain, as if the bone would pierce through his flesh.
"Heal."
Darcor glanced calmly at Chloe.
"Holy light."
Chloe placed her hand on the leader's arm as if she'd been waiting.
Whoosh.
Holy divine power realigned the broken bone
and stitched the torn muscles back together in seconds.
"Hahk, hahk... Wh-what the..."
The leader looked down at his arm, tears streaming.
It had been dangling limp just moments ago, but now it was somehow fine.
The Saintess's sacred healing was worlds apart from ordinary mages' spells.
Among them, Chloe's unique Regeneration Heal skill rapidly restored the target's condition
with overwhelming effect.
"First time seeing this? Oh, right, you guys don't have a Saintess. Round two."
Darcor's lip curled slyly.
"Leg this time. Let's see... here!"
Snap.
His shinbone shattered in two.
It even seemed like the bone had slightly burst through the skin.
"Gaaah! Ki-kill me! Just kill me, please!"
"Why kill you? We're not savages. Saintess, if you would."
"Of course. How can we just kill people like that? Tsk tsk... Why try to throw away your life so easily? It's such a shame.
Alright, time for healing. In the name of the Goddess."
The moment her hand touched him, the bone was forced back into place,
and the protruding shard slid smoothly inside.
To Chloe's ears, the leader's screams sounded as beautiful as new shoe soles on marble.
'That's right. Good job.'
Darcor nodded in satisfaction at the sight.
Gulp.
He swallowed dryly, pondering which spot would be the most fun.
"Hmm, hmm... Next spot? Right here."
Darcor struck carefully but with full force.
Crunch.
"Kaaaah!"
"Ribs are tasty whether on beast or man, right? How's it taste?"
"Y-you crazy bastard..."
"Still hasn't sunk in? Saintess, heal."
"Your Majesty, it's not fully broken here. It's not clean. Won't heal right like this..."
"Oh? Sorry, sorry. Want me to—"
"No, no. I can handle this much..."
Snap.
"Kaaaah!"
Chloe smiled mercifully
and snapped the poorly broken rib cleanly in two.
"Save these lambs."
Crackle.
A endless cycle of breaking, mending, tearing, regenerating.
"You guys love eternity so much, right? Eternal recurrence and all?"
Pain worse than death repeated endlessly, but the body always returned to peak condition.
The watcher's leader wasn't even granted the mercy of unconsciousness.
Darcor's lip curled viciously.
"Let's match bones eternally today. We've got time."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "O-okay! I was wrong! I-I'll talk, so please, stop! Please!"
The madness in the leader's eyes had evaporated,
replaced by primal terror.
It had only taken eight rounds.
For the leader of the watchers, who'd devoted decades of his life to the cult in fanaticism,
the journey back to sanity
required his entire skeleton to break and reform eight times.
Finally, he slammed his head on the floor and wailed.
Gods and eternal recurrence be damned—he just needed to escape these lunatics first.
"Already?"
Chloe smacked her lips regretfully and tilted her head.
"But... the lamb still needs more repentance? Maybe rethink it. Give it another think.
We haven't even started on the special spots yet?"
Chloe's eyes gleamed holier than ever.
The leader recoiled at the sight.
'Th-that woman can't be a Saintess. She's definitely a demon...'
"Saintess, calm down, calm."
Darcor smirked and reined her in.
Push too hard, and he might actually snap and spill nothing useful.
"But Your Majesty, when we do it, we should do it right! How can your heart be so soft..."
As Chloe grumbled but refused to give up,
the watcher's leader hurriedly shouted.
"I-I'll talk! Everything! Just please stop the healing!"
Trembling all over, he nodded toward the floor.
"Th-there! The map's in the secret safe hidden under the floor!"
From there, he spilled everything like a dam bursting—even stuff they hadn't asked.
The other watchers nearby were already quaking in terror.
No one sought their god anymore.
Even if a god appeared, it'd probably turn tail at the sight of these maniacs.
Who could they call on when something scarier than gods stood before them?
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Our Your Majesty is so refreshingly ruthless. I love it.] The holy sword Excalibur, which Eris had been polishing, vibrated.
She grinned brightly and gave a thumbs-up.
"As expected of Your Majesty. How do you break bones so precisely in one hit? Amazing!"
"..."
Varkas alone quietly turned his head.
'Haa... There's no normal person here.'
He recalled his own moment of repentance.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "See? Should've talked sooner. Wasted time."
Thwack.
Darcor lightly struck the last watcher's nape, knocking him out.
Silence fell over the noisy underground chamber.
He brushed the dust off his hands and stood casually.
"Your Majesty, found it."
Varkas, searching the floor safe as instructed, approached with something.
In his hand was a weathered parchment map.
Ding.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Stage 1 Objective: Follow the Trail complete.] [Reward: Obtained map to Eternal Return's main base.] [Reward: Madness Burst proficiency greatly increased.] [Detailed coordinates of Eternal Return cult registered in the system.] 'Oh, quest complete at last.'
Darcor took the map from Varkas and unrolled it.
Between canyons untouched by human feet,
a sinister red mark caught his eye.
"Good. Time to go."
Darcor grinned and rolled up the map.
"Let's go see those lunatics' faces."